Former Toronto Raptors guard Jeremy Lin, now a free agent, is not backing away from some emotional and controversial comments made during an hour-long speaking engagement in Taiwan — which saw the veteran guard break down as he explained how he felt the NBA had given up on him and his skills.
Now a week after the fact, the 30-year-old has gotten plenty of positive and negative feedback about his reaction, but we won't take back the words he said in a very conscious moment of vulnerability with his fans.
“I think showing weakness is one of the greatest signs of strength,” Lin told another audience Friday before the Harvard Business School community in Shanghai, China — according to Diamond Leung of The Athletic. “Ironically, to be able to be OK with your weakness is one of the strongest things you could do. Who doesn’t have weaknesses? We all do. But to show them is one of the strongest things you can do.
“And I just feel like I know why I’m doing that. If I rubbed people the wrong way, I’m sorry. But at the end of the day, I know what I’ve been through, I know the obstacles that I’ve been through, and I also know what kind of player I can become, and I know I haven’t done that. And so that’s what I’m going to continue to do is chase that and try to be the best version of myself.”
Lin received flack for being unappreciative of the opportunities he's had in the past, achieving more than the usual role player has been able to enjoy during an NBA career, but Lin's feelings are that of any athlete who feels he's in good condition to perform at a high level.
The Harvard alum was averaging 10 points per game with the Atlanta Hawks before being bought out, and subsequently signed with the Raptors, which didn't earn him much playing time under Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet in the depth chart, but yielded a championship.
His feelings are no different than others who wind up signing overseas after their NBA luck has run out — only difference is, Lin has had the cojones to say that out loud.
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