Former Nets forward, Kenyon Martin, posted an Instagram video on Wednesday criticizing Asian-American Jeremy Lin’s new dreadlocks as some form of ‘cultural appropriation. Martin has since taken down the post due to serious blowback and criticism from fans and the sports-world combined.
https://youtu.be/9Gplm8cFyrA?t=11s
In a video post on Instagram captioned, ‘I’m confused, puzzled, in shock, disappointed in his teammates and the Nets as an organization for allowing this foolishness!!!’, Martin criticized Lin’s new hairdo of dreadlocks by saying the following:
“Do I need to remind this damn boy his last name Lin? Like, come on, man. Let’s stop it with these people. Like, there’s no way possible he would’ve made it on one of our teams with that bullshit going on on his head,” said Martin on a YouTube video.
“Come on man, somebody need to tell him, like, ‘Alright bro, we get it. You wanna be Black.’ Like, we get it. But your last name is Lin, alright?”
Jeremy Lin’s hair has been the focus of discussion lately due to the cultural appropriation criticism against him by Kenyon Martin. Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images
Martin who played for the Nets back from 2000-2004 was often outspoken about his views on things.
In a written response in a Players’ Tribune article, Lin explained his initial trepidation over fears of cultural appropriation because of his Asian-American background and a from African-Americans.
As a result, Lin chose to respond to Kenyon Martin on Instagram and also pointing out the hypocrisy of Martin’s cultural appropriation criticism when he himself has Chinese tattoos on his arm.
Jeremy Lin pointed out Kenyon Martin’s hypocrisy with the Chinese tattoos on his arm.
Unlike Martin, the Nets guard who avoided taking any direct shots at the former NBA All Star took the high road and responded to the harsh words and provocative Instagram post with more class and dignity. Lin also expressed gratitude over Martin’s thoughts and critique of his new hairdo.
“Hey man. Its all good you don’t have to like my hair and are entitled to your opinion,” wrote Lin on his Instagram post.
“Actually i legit grateful you sharing it tbh. At the end of the day i appreciate that i have dreads and you have Chinese tattoos bc i think its a sign of respect. And i think as minorities, the more we appreciate each others cultures, the more we influence mainstream society. Thanks for everything you did for the nets and hoops…had your poster up on my wall growin up.”
BROOKLYN, NY – OCTOBER 5: Jeremy Lin #7 of the Brooklyn Nets has been the focus of discussion after sporting dreadlocks as a new hairstyle. Credit: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Lin’s response in both context and tone received praise from all around the NBA League – from the NBPA Executive to the fans and beyond the sports world.
While Jeremy Lin’s eccentric hairstyles have often been the subject of attention, it is the dreadlocks that have become the source of discussion since he arrived at Nets camp. In his Players’ Tribune article, Lin said he understood how it could be seen as a form of cultural appropriation. He wrote about agonizing over the decision of getting the dreads done with teammate Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Jeremy Lin’s classy response to Kenyon Martin’s harsh criticism of his over his dreadlocks has earned him praise from both fans and the sports world. Credit: Instagram/Jeremy Lin
“Because honestly, I may be wrong here. Maybe one day I’ll look back and laugh at myself, or even cringe,” wrote Lin. “I don’t have the answers. But I hope the thing you take away from what I’m writing is not that everyone should feel free to get braids or dreads—or that one gesture can smooth over the real misunderstandings that exist in our society around race and cultural identity. Not at all.”
Martin Kenyon (R) whose harsh cultural appropriation criticism of Jeremy Lin’s hair is know for his outspoken comments. Credit: AP
After an unexpected blowback and fierce backlash, Kenyon Martin deleted the Instagram videos of his dissing and taking down of Jeremy Lin on his dreadlock hairstyle. He then posted another video in response to Lin, an apology to Lin (although he still maintains the dreadlock hairstyle is “hilarious”).
“Wasn’t really saying it to him, Martin said. I was just making a blanket statement, which I probably should’ve reached out to him. The man has dreadlocks and I thought it was hilarious. Nothing more, nothing less than I thought it was hilarious. I made a statement… Wording was probably bad that I used. Said he was trying to be black,” said Martin.
Jeremy Lin (L) explained how he agonized over the decision on whether to braid his hair for fear of the cultural appropriation criticism from some within the African-American community. Credit: Brooklyn Nets
“Wasn’t my intention to be racist or anything like that. But nah, I thought it was hilarious. I thought it was nothing more than us getting a laugh and joke out of it and people took it to the next level.
“People been on my page taking it to the next level — on the post and video I made, ‘racist this, ‘N’ word this, uneducated that. Ah. ‘N’ word eh, black man, yeah. Uneducated? Graduated from high school and college. Racist? Far from it. So nah, none of the above. It was meant to be a joke that got out of control.
Asian-American Jeremy Lin sporting a dreadlocks hairdo which has become the source of discussion over the issue of cultural appropriation and identity politics in the U.S. Credit: NetsDaily
“If I ruffled Jeremy Lin’s feathers or if I made him feel the way, I apologize brother. Reached out to Jeremy, haven’t heard back from him. Like I said, I’m a grown man and I can admit when I’m wrong. When things get out of control I can admit when I was wrong. My wording was bad. Is it still funny that he has dreadlocks? Yes!”
Outspoken ex-Net forward Kenyon Martin deleted his video criticism post ofJeremy Lin’s dreads due to serious blow back and social media backlash. Credit: Getty Images
What this exchange indicates is that this issue is something much bigger in a country where identity politics play a fundamental in almost every fabric of society.
whether Martin’s comments were a pointed cultural appropriation critique or simply a joke gone too far, the fact is that they have been heavily scrutinized mainly due to the fact that they went beyond mere dreadlocks to something much bigger than Kmart and JLin.
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