Jeremy Lin Finally Gets Direct Apology From Kenyon Martin After Dreadlocks ‘Joke’

The controversy surrounding Brooklyn Nets star Jeremy Lin and former Nets forward Kenyon Martin appears to be over. It all started with Lin and his dreadlocks hairstyle that was followed by Martin’s alleged racial comments about it. Martin received a lot of criticism because of it, and he has since apologized directly to Lin.

According to Ian Begley of ESPN, Lin revealed in an interview that Martin was “extremely apologetic” after reaching out to him. The Asian-American point guard believes that the controversy was blown out of proportion, and he was impressed by how Martin handled all the criticism he received.

“It was a great conversation. I think things were blown out of proportion, taken a little out of context as well. But me and him had a discussion where he was extremely courteous. Like, I’m actually impressed with how he handled everything. I’m thankful for the conversation we had, and I’m also sorry for some of the things he and his son kind of had to deal with in the aftermath.”

Jeremy Lin introduced his dreadlocks at training camp, and he carefully thought about his new hairstyle in the offseason. Lin is known for his outrageous hairdos, which have gone viral in the past couple of seasons.

The controversy started when Kenyon Martin called out Jeremy Lin and his dreadlocks. Martin went on to remind Lin of his surname, and he believed that the Nets star is trying hard to “be black.” He also noted that Lin would not be able to get dreadlocks if he was a member of a team with him. But after he received a lot of flak for his comments, Martin backtracked and he admitted to using poor words in criticizing Lin’s dreadlocks.

In an interview with TMZ Sports, Martin explained that it was not his intention to say that Lin was trying to “be black.” He apologized to Lin and everyone who was offended by his comments. The 39-year-old retired player added that he is just making fun of the dreadlocks, and he was just making jokes but he should have used better wording.

“It was meant to be a joke that got out of control. That’s all. If I ruffled Jeremy Lin’s feathers or if I made him feel that way, I apologize, brother. I’m a grown man, and I can admit when I’m wrong. When things get out of control, I can admit when I was wrong, and my wording was bad.”

With all sides ready to move on, the controversy surrounding Jeremy Lin and his dreadlocks is over. Lin is looking to help the Nets make the playoffs in his second season in Brooklyn. He played in only 36 games last season after getting hampered by a couple of hamstring injuries.

On the other hand, Kenyon Martin has been retired from the NBA since 2015 when he played 11 games for the Milwaukee Bucks. Martin recently played for Ice Cube’s BIG3 League, and he made headlines earlier this year after calling out former head coach George Karl.

[Featured Image by Abbie Parr/Getty Images]