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Jeremy Lin just penned a story for the Player’s Tribune centered on the phenomenon that is ... his hair.
This hair, on display at MSG Tuesday night...
New cut pic.twitter.com/junaEMZ0Fl
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 3, 2017
Lin tell stories of how he’s bonded with some teammates over the hair, like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, with whom he shared hair growth; like Caris LeVert, who selected a braid design for Lin when he didn’t know what to get; and like D’Angelo Russell, with whom Lin discussed the rigorous task of growing dreads.
But, to the surprise of no one, Lin being Lin, he doesn’t simply focus on the styles he’s worn or is wearing or might wear in the future.
Lin touches on cultural appropriation, expressing potential concerns about actually styling his hair certain ways, not wanting to offend anyone, and wanting to hear from everyone, regarding it.
A couple of excerpts:
When discussing the indecision surrounding whether or not to grow his hair into dreads.
“I still wasn’t sure. A recent conversation I had with Savannah Hart, a Nets staff member who’s African-American, really resonated with me. I told her about my thought process — how I was really unsure about getting dreads because I was worried I’d be appropriating black culture. She said that if it wasn’t my intention to be dismissive of another culture, then maybe it could be an opportunity to learn about that culture.”
Lin also wants to hear from you. Is he being offensive? Does it not matter?
“At the beginning of this article, I said I wanted to hear what you think. I truly do.
“Because honestly, I may be wrong here. Maybe one day I’ll look back and laugh at myself, or even cringe. 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.”
Or Rado, Ragni, and McDermott wrote for the musical of the same name...
Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow it
My hair
You can read the full piece from Lin, titled ‘So … About My Hair’ here.