It looks like Jeremy Lin has gone and done it. I've tried to keep myself from getting caught up in the "Linsanity." Really, I did. I wanted to say I came to like a guy on his own merits, not because the New York Knicks point guard was being blown up on the sports pages.
And now, I have. But it's his behavior off the court that's earned Lin my faithful following. It turns out this young player is one class act.
Let's just examine the evidence, shall we? Since skyrocketing from an unknown who was on waivers when the Knicks scooped him up to become the hottest phenom in the NBA, the 23-year-old has spent his days spreading the love around.
Take, for example, the $42,000 the Gardens of Dreams Foundation just earned thanks to a game worn jersey signed by Lin and the star's promise to meet with four fans. Put up on the auction block at CharityBuzz.com, the bidding went crazy. And remember, the money all goes to the charity -- not the player. Not too shabby.
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Then there's the time he took to chat with the NBA's "most hated player," Kris Humphries, aka the former Mr. Kim Kardashian, the other day. The subject of boos no matter what arena he's in, Humphries is more or less Lin's polar opposite these days. Lin could have ignored him. Instead he pulled the Nets' star aside for a pep talk on ignoring the hate and some compliments on how he's been playing. See what I mean about classy? He's even nice to his competition!
And while we're on the subject of turning the other cheek, let's talk about Lin's admonition for everyone jumping all over fired ESPN editor Anthony Federico. Even though Federico's headline referring to the Asian-American Lin as a "chink in the armor" was racist and offensive, the star is willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt that it was an honest mistake. And he wants the rest of the country to do it too! Ahem, America, we could use a little more of this compassion in this world.
And while we're all loving on Lin, he'd like to ask the world a favor. Could they please, pretty please, leave his dear Grandma in Taiwan alone? Yes, he's the hottest thing in American sports right now, but he's still got time to look out for his granny and shoo the reporters from his doorstep. Aww!
What do you think? Are you a convert now?
Image via Stephen_Curry/Wikimedia