Kenyon Martin Says Jeremy Lin's Dreadlocks Show He Wants to Be Black

Former Nets forward Kenyon Martin posted an Instagram video Wednesday criticizing Jeremy Lin's new dreadlocks, which were recently the subject of a Players' Tribune article. Martin has since removed the post, as noted by Tom Lorenzo of Nets Daily on Friday.

"Do I need to remind this damn boy his last name Lin?" Martin said (h/t Nets Daily). "Like, come on, man. Let's stop it with these people. There is no way possible he would've made it on one of our teams with that bulls--t on his head. 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.'"

Lin responded to Martin's video with a comment of his own, saying he was grateful for the former All-Star's thoughts.

"Its all good you don't have to like my hair and are entitled to your opinion. Actually i legit grateful you sharing it tbh," Lin wrote on Instagram. "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."

Lin's hair has become the source of discussion since he arrived at Nets camp with dreadlocks. 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 and the eight-hour process of getting the dreads done with teammate Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. 

"Because honestly, I may be wrong here. Maybe one day I'll look back and laugh at myself, or even cringe," Lin wrote. "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."