Ever wondered if there has been a phenomenal Asian American basketball player? What about one to come through the NBA and help conquer racism on top of that? Well, ponder no more because in The Nation’s article titled, “Jeremy Lin: Taking the Weight” Dave Zirin offers an excellent analysis about the topic due to the author’s skills with rhetoric. Dave Zirin is an American political sportswriter, among the most famous in the world. A very talented writer, Zirin is the sports editor for The Nation magazine.
The Nation is a magazine published weekly about opinions, politics, and cultural news that provides an analysis about them. The medium in which he writes can be either print or digital if the article is going in the magazine or on the website However, for “Jeremy Lin: Taking the Weight”, this was first published in the hard copy of the magazine. His intended audience is English speaking sports fans that are interested in the debate or conflict among individuals seeking to reach a higher power in sports particularly. This particular article was a feature on a racism and discrimination feature published on March 19, 2002.
With a great deal of experience and education behind him, Dave Zirin does an effective job using diverse rhetorical strategies to educate and persuade his intended audience effectively. Expanding upon the rhetorical situation, Zirin highlights the exigence within the first paragraph. He states, “Lin’s electric skills on the court—and the bigoted reactions his presence has provoked—have sparked a national discussion about media depictions of Asian-Americans, the daily racism they face and their history” (24). Right away Zirin makes it clear to the audience that the issue is with discrimination towards Asian
Americans and leads into how that has had an influence in the NBA. With that, the purpose of the article is readily outlined in the title of the article and the subheading when Zirin says, “Jeremy Lin: Taking the Weight. The NBA phenom has sparked a national discussion about racism against Asian-Americans” (24). Beyond that, affordances and constraints are well adapted to. Space acts as a significant constraint in this case since it is a magazine article and he has limited space to convey a message. For example, on the second page lies a very cumbersome ad that takes away valuable writing space.
Also, the magazine in which he writes for aims their topics towards a specific audience to he has to make sure the specified requirements are met. However, the affordances are strongly used as an advantage as he can add pictures that aid in conveying his message and provide visual context. Dave Zirin as the author of the piece exhibits a great appeal to ethos, as he has been called, “The best sportswriter in the United States” (Edge of Sports). Throughout his career he has been featured on prestigious sources such as, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and The Source.
Although he has written eight novels, he is talented beyond writing and has impacted the world on various television stations such as ESPN, CNN, NBC and a long list of others in which viewers have been enlightened on politics within athletics. Strongly building a foundation for his ethos have been the awards he’s won and been nominated for; such as the NAACP Image Award for one of his novels and the PEN American award for literary sports writing (Edge of Sports). All of these achievements have combined over the years, resulting in Zirin containing a hefty dose of appeals to situated ethos.
Having such sound experience led Zirin to writing a piece about Jeremy Lin that would be beneficial to the intended audience. In the United States, The Nation is the oldest continuously published magazine; as well as the most commonly read journal of cultural, political news, opinion and analysis (The Nation). Therefore, it is likely that Zirin is writing for a very specific audience looking for a quality analysis on culture within sports. That being said, it is imminent that he crafts an article to meet the desires of The Nation’s readers.
Throughout the article there are many references to other people that were interviewed, and literature that is relevant. For example, Zirin early states, “Lin’s having “no transcendental meaning” would be news to the people I spoke with for this article, including Jeff Chang, author of the award-winning Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation and the forthcoming Who We Be: The Colorization of America; Helen Gym, a board member at Asian Americans United in Philadelphia; and William Wong, a long-time journalist from Oakland” (24).
By referring to other’s with more extensive knowledge about Asian-Americans, he can include more extensive information, ergo building his invented ethos. Beyond the written content of the article, Zirin has the ability to play with structure and visual rhetoric since this article was published in a magazine. Popping out and capturing the reader’s attention early, there is a picture of a pretty Asian girl wearing a New York Knicks jersey and holding not one, but two pictures up of Jeremy Lin.
This picture is eye catching due to the bright green and orange jersey, as well as that is fights against the stereotype that Asian-Americans are not basketball fans. Beyond the image, Zirin opened with a large, beaming red dropped initial capital letter “A”. Although it is unclear what deeper meaning this could hold, it draws the reader’s focus to the opening of the article and practically begs itself to be read. The first page of his article includes a background and facts about Jeremy Lin and the issues that have arose with Asian-American racism.
This allows the audience to formulate their own opinions about what has been presented to them. He follows with a second page that introduces his opinion on the matter, as well as providing an analysis with reasoning that others can relate to. Moreover, the format and structure in which the article was composed makes for a facile read. In laying down a sturdy foundation of structure and ethos, it comes naturally that Dave Zirin is capable of scribing effective text. His explanations of the topic and of quotes are simply great.
Towards the bottom of the second page the article reads,” William Wong said this alone holds remarkable potential. “He has a chance to be a model for positive social relationships between blacks and Asians. These relationships range from loving, copacetic, friendly and respectful to alienated, hostile, suspicious and hate-ful” (25). Here lies a prime example of how Zirin elaborates on a detail prescribed from an outside source, causing it to be more understandable. One of the main characteristics in an effective analysis is focusing and representing each side.
An author becomes much more trustworthy if he or she can overcome their own personal and play devil’s advocate. However, it is extremely impressive when an author can present multiple views and still tastefully back up their own personal analysis. Before following with his own analysis Zurin states, “Not everyone is convinced this story means so much. Gene Lyons, writing for Salon, said, “Look, Jeremy Lin is a fellow fortunate enough to make a handsome living putting an inflated rubber ball through an iron hoop, as millions of his clumsier brethren dreamed of doing in our youth….
It has no transcen-dental meaning. It’s a ballgame. ” “(24). This a harsh statement to come back from, but Zirin successfully states and backs up his view on the achievements of Lin when he says, “By driving the lane, by enduring racist taunts and by doing it all with a wink and a smile, Lin has done more than bring hope to aspiring athletes of Asian descent. He holds the promise of ending invisibility for masses of people deemed irrelevant by attitudes marinated in decades of racism.
This might sound overly hopeful, but at a time when hope is in short supply, Lin speaks to the best angels of our nature, and in so doing he inspires progress and change” (25). Arrangement is key in this rhetorical analysis because Zirin is able to conclude with a cogent statement. To conclude, The Nation is the home to the exemplary article, “Jeremy Lin: Taking the Weight” written by the world renown Dave Zirin. In depth, the article explains the racism and discrimination in the NBA pertaining to the Asian-American athlete, Jeremy Lin. A well-crafted rhetorical analysis, the article is worth the read for any fan of sports and politics.