Time Magazine Names Jeremy Lin '10 One of World's 100 Most Influential People

The post-surgery rehabilitation of Jeremy Lin ’10 just got a little better. On Wednesday morning, Time magazine announced that it included Lin among its annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education, wrote Time’s entry on Lin, commending him for his work ethic and academic success.

“[Lin has dismissed the thought that] being a world-class athlete on the court is somehow at odds with being an excellent student off the court,” Duncan wrote. “Contrary to what you might read, Jeremy, 23, is no overnight sensation—In fact, he achieved success the old-fashioned way: he earned it. He worked hard and stayed humble. He lives the right way; he plays the right way.”

Duncan, however, did not ignore the storyline of Lin’s ethnicity playing a role in his recent popularity.

“He's dispelled the idea that Asian-American guards somehow couldn't hack it in the NBA,” Duncan explained.

Shortly after receiving the news, Lin’s New York Knicks teammate Steve Novak tweeted: “Congrats to @JLin7 on being named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people! #ThatsMyTeammate” to which Lin responded “Now im blushing…”.

Lin’s fellow list members include Tim Tebow, the New York Jets’ famously religious backup quarterback to whom many have compared the also-religious Lin, presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and president Barack Obama.

Lin’s selection culminates an extremely turbulent year for the former Harvard co-captain, in which, somehow, he has traded getting released from teams for press releases. While it may be true that with his recent knee surgery Linsanity has officially ended, it seems that there is now a more appropriate word to describe the Harvard alum: Linfluential.