DAN LE BATARD of the Miami herald talks about the rising reputation of Jeremy lin, whose background is puzzling on how he became a rising star.
When looking at Jeremy Lin, the rising point guard of the Knicks, we see potential. Batard, however, focuses attention on where he comes from, and why is it that we see his prowess now? Batard states that basketball "scours the earth for granules of talent and doesn't often get fooled by packaging." Yet, why did it take so long for Lin to be noticed? No athletic scholarships, bounced around in the D-League, and spent mediocre time with the Warriors and Rockets, Batard says it's puzzling. It brings up topics of miracles, or profiling. With no one else scoring more in his first four starts than Lin, Batard focuses on the question on why did the Knicks coach, an "expert in point guards" and watched him everyday in practice, and put him when Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony were out. Perhaps the NBA isn't capable of perusing the true talented individuals. Batard states "the experts doing the mining in sports are humans just as capable of bias and subconcious stereotyping." The so-called officials aren't so good at finding the talented then. The idea of underestimation rises.
Though this story revolves around sports, it contains good details of controversy, such as racial profiling, bias and underestimation of individuals. When we see an individual, ignored and counted out, succeeding, they soar above prejudice. It'd be fruitful to inform the public of successful underdogs and how the controversy of bias and prejudice is evident, but it's good to see people free from that bias
