Jeremy Lin: Floyd Mayweather Stirs Pot with Controversial Comments on Linsanity

Jeremy Lin should be making headlines as one of the up-and-coming players in the NBA. Period.

Unfortunately, the fact that he's the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent is getting way too much attention.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. pulled out the race card on Monday, inciting controversy as only he can:

This notion that Lin is being hyped because he's Asian needs to stop. He's being hyped because he's led the New York Knicks to five straight wins, averaging 26.8 points and 8.0 assists along the way. He's done this despite almost being cut by the Knicks early last week.

I would agree that Lin gets more hype in Asia because he's Asian, but to say that's the sole reason he's exploding throughout America is not only jumping to conclusions, it's ill-informed.

Lin is one of the great stories of the NBA this season because he's a true underdog, never recognized for his talents out of Harvard from the very start. Last season with the Golden State Warriors, Lin averaged fewer than 10 minutes per game in 29 games. Part of that was because he was behind Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis, but he also never got much run.

I will say this: The fact that Lin is Asian adds to his story. But it should not define it. What should define Lin is his play on the basketball court these past couple of weeks, which has been remarkable. He's led a team without Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire from the brink of collapse and inserted them back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. And I can bet you, Floyd, that a black player would be garnering a great deal of praise if he did the same thing Lin has as an underdog.

It's comments like these that lose fans for Mayweather. Either he likes to drum up drama or he's simply so far up in the clouds to realize some of the things he says. I'm guessing it's both "A" and "B."

In the end, it's not about your ethnicity. It's about how you play the game.