This week there has been lots of talk about Jeremy Lin and whether or not he’s being treated unfairly by NBA officials. This is a rundown of everything that has happened so far — from the fan-made video that started the conversation to the response that the league released on Friday.
The YouTube Video
On April 5, a fan posted a video on YouTube that presented examples of times when Jeremy Lin was hit hard and no foul (or no flagrant) was called. The video has racked up more than 1.2 million views.
The Fan Letter and League Response
Along with the YouTube video, there was also a letter (written in the video description) that the fan encouraged everyone to send to the league. Part of it says:
Lin’s health and safety are at risk, as Lin gets hit unnecessarily and excessively in the face, head, and neck areas by other players frequently. The most alarming aspect of these incidents is that the referees didn’t make the right calls to protect the player, Lin, from harm. Evidently, the lack of calls and reviews from the referees encourages other players to continue using hard foul tactics on Lin.
The NBA responded, and the statement was posted on Reddit. The gist of it:
While some of the plays in the video you referenced involved hard contact, none was subsequently deemed a Flagrant Foul given the full circumstances, angles and comparables from past games.
Jeremy Lin’s Response
Lin responded saying that he knows foul calls are something that’s out of his control and that he’ll continue playing through it. Additionally, he expressed gratitude to his fans.
“I’m just thankful the fans are trying to do something about it, and trying to push the league to at least review some of the stuff. What happened on the film is exactly what happened,” Lin said.
The New York Times Story
On Thursday, The New York Times‘ Andrew Keh published a story about the fan who made the initial video, 48-year-old Hsiu-Chen Kuei. Kuei told Keh that it took her six nights — three hours per night — to edit the video. She said she hopes this helps Lin.
“I’m just happy that people are noticing this,” Kuei said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “It’s not about views. I didn’t get money or anything. I didn’t want attention. I just want Lin to get fair calls.”
Kuei also said that she hopes this helps other players, as well.
“Through this, I just want to make sure the rules apply to every player and players get protected by the rules,” Kuei said.
The NBA Official Response
All of this brings us to Friday. This is 10 days after the video was first published. The NBA released another statement — this time to its “NBA Official” site — which it says is a direct response to the NYT story. It reiterated parts of its prior response, and it included hard stats. A portion reads:
With respect to the data, over the last three seasons, Mr. Lin ranked 21st among all players in number of drives to the basket with 1,537.While he has not drawn a flagrant foul in that time, neither have other guards known for their driving ability like Reggie Jackson (2,031 drives), Tony Parker (1,974), Tyreke Evans (1,969), Ty Lawson (1,891), Kyrie Irving (1,649) or Victor Oladipo (1,544). Conversely, Mr. Lin has drawn more common fouls on those drives than any of those previously listed players and has drawn fouls at the seventh-highest rate among the 23 players with more than 1,500 drives.
The NBA isn’t budging in its stance that the referees are making and reveiwing these calls to the best of their abilities. Kuei told the NY Times that she’ll create another video if necessary.
The Hornets face the Heat in the first round of the playoffs on Sunday.
Photo: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
