Jeremy Lin Wants to Follow Colin Kaepernick's Lead, Have Voice Heard on Issue of Social Injustice
Jeremy Lin has Colin Kaepernick on the brain. More than that, as the start of the 2016-17 NBA season draws near, the new Brooklyn Nets star has been endlessly pondering how he can best make his voice heard as athletes across the entire sports landscape take a stand on social injustice.
For Kaepernick, that's come to mean not standing for the playing of the national anthem. The New York Daily News reports Lin readily admits to engaging in ongoing conversations with various friends about how he can bring even more attention to the situation
"People are asking me 'are you going to do anything?' I haven't completely figured it out," he said. "I've been just asking questions and thinking a lot."
Lin insists he is gratified over all the increased attention the issue has recently generated.
"I think that's something that even though it's such a big topic and even though it's been going on for such a long time in some ways it was kind of swept under the rug until recently," he added. "I think a lot of people that weren't necessarily interested in it before, are now engaged in it, and I think that's always going to be the first step towards any change."
Whatever stance he ultimately decides to take, Lin is hopeful his new teammates will join him in making it a complete team effort.
"I will say the one thing that I will make sure is I don't want to do anything alone," he said. "I want something to be united, I want there to be solidarity, because I don't want it to be X versus Y, or Group A versus Group B versus Group C or whatever."
As for all the division that has sparked much of the controversy, namely the racial tensions between the black community and police departments across the country, the Harvard grad added: "I'm not even sure if things have necessarily changed, as much as if they've just been recorded and exposed recently."
NBA.com reports the NBA Players Association recently sent out a memo to all players urging them to consider guidance from league and union officials on how they might best go about helping to create "positive change."
The Nets signed Lin to a three-year, $36 million deal in summer free agency. It marks the veteran guard's second time in New York, coming after his 2012 run with the Knicks when his prolonged hot stretch sparked an era known as "Linsanity."
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com