From the beginning of Jeremy Lin's NBA career, people have questioned his credentials because of his Asian-ness. I'm not talking about his ability to play professional basketball (though many have certainly doubted that too); I'm talking about his actual credentials as professional basketball player.
After five years in the NBA, playing for five different teams -- not to mention that "Linsanity" thing that got everybody hella excited -- Jeremy apparently still has trouble getting through security. He says he gets stopped and carded on a regular basis.
"It literally happens everywhere," Jeremy tells ESPN.com.
"It's one of those things where it literally happens everywhere," Lin told ESPN.com after Thursday's practice in Detroit, where the Hornets will play the Pistons on Friday. "At opposing arenas, it happens all the time. Just the other night in Brooklyn, I was trying to leave [Barclays Center] and one of the ladies was like, 'Hey, I need your credentials for you to pass.' And then someone else was like, 'Oh, he's a player. He's good.' I'm used to it by now. It's just part of being Asian in the NBA."
In this clip from the 2013 documentary Linsanity, the former Knicks guard recalls his first couple of days with team, when he got stopped while trying to enter through the players' entrance at Madison Square Garden.
Last fall, after signing with the Charlotte Hornets, Jeremy again experienced some trouble while trying to enter Time Warner Cable Arena for the first time. Security personnel needed a little extra convincing that this Asian guy was a player. Not a fan. Not a trainer. A professional basketball player.
At this point, it seems that Jeremy's pretty used to it, and takes it in stride. These days, he's too busy playing his ass off, helping Charlotte pick up some serious steam in the Eastern Conference and make a push for the playoffs. In the last three games, Jeremy'a averaging 22 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game, while shooting 62.5 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the 3-point line.
Heck, if he keeps this up, people might start recognizing him.
More here: Hornets' transformation has them surging in the East
