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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Welcome to the NBA


Nobody can get enough of Jeremy Lin! But, will religion get in Jeremy Lin's way while trying to prove himself as a full-time point guard in the NBA? While being interviewed he said "I’m not working hard and practicing day in and day out so that I can please other people. My audience is God. ... The right way to play is not for others and not for myself, but for God. I still don’t fully understand what that means; I struggle with these things every game, every day. I’m still learning to be selfless and submit myself to God and give up my game to Him.”
While I don't believe any athlete should be criticized for being strongly dedicated to their respected religion (Tim Tebow), I think as an "up-and-comer", Lin shouldn't be dedicating his entire game solely to a religious figure. The fact is that he is a Professional Athlete now and that comes with international fame, fortune, and, most importantly, a responsibility to his team. These responsibilities come with the contract that he agreed to with the NBA and the New York Knicks. He, in fact, DOES have the responsibility to please both the fans and his team mates, that's how professional sports work in the United States. If he seizes to please others, he will undoubtably fall off the chart and "LINsanity" would be over.
I'm not saying that Lin needs to or should change his mindset on this, if it works for him (and it currently does), it works for everyone else. However, he should be careful not to discredit or fail to give any credit at all to his team mates and the entire New York Knick's community for his successes. In the end of the day, the head coach (and for the NYK, the fans too) puts Lin in the game to make the game-winnning basket and it's his own team mates that will be passing him the ball. Lin needs to be careful with his words and not let anything distract him from excelling in basketball. This is a skill that young basketball players struggle with frequently and often becomes the headline for stories on ESPN. Today, professional basketball has become as much as a game off the court as on it and how players weather this off court game often defines an entire career. Ultimately, if he can handle the game outside the court, he will have further success on it. Only time will tell.

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