NBA player Isaiah Hartenstein explains his “level of blackness” by stating: “I have light skin.”
TMZ reports that the Knick recently spoke to the ‘Roommates Show’ and shared his black background.
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Isaiah’s teammate and show co-host Jalen Brunson said: “Let’s get straight to the point. Um, are you black?
“I really wanted to cover this,” fellow host and New York Knick Josh Hart stated.
He continued, “Explain your darkness. What level of darkness?
“So, my level of blackness?” Isaiah repeated. “Well, you know it’s like fair skin. I have fair skin.
“Oh! Glowing skin! I like that. My son’s glowing skin,” Hart responded.
“I’m above light skin. But yes, my father is black”, Isaiah clarified.
How black people change when they find out
According to Harenstein, he is treated differently from black people when they learn of his black origin.
The forward said, “Whenever people find out… do you know ‘Key and Peele’? The presentation. So, you know, when Barack Obama is going to come in… The white man’s handshake is different.
“When they find out I’m black. That changes. The whole vibe changes,” he said.
The hosts burst into laughter.
“It goes from ‘Hey, how are you’ to ‘Hey! Hey, what’s up man! How are you’?!’ Hartenstein explained.
Hartenstein said he didn’t know how he should identify himself. His father, Florian Hartenstein, is reportedly mixed race and his mother, Theresa, is Caucasian. Isaiah explained that he grew up in Eugene, Oregon. The center was born when his German-American father was in college playing basketball for the University of Oregon Ducks.
“I don’t know if I claim black, white, German, American. I’m kind of everything,” the player said.
Check out the full interview on the Roommates Show here:
Social media weighed in on Isaiah’s “blackness”
Fans reacted to Hartenstein’s explanation in Kicks Instagram Report.
@leftonread20 joked, “All I hear is Katt Williams saying, ‘Who’s white, baby, that’s the one!’
“So can he say the word or not?” @tim_under_tooth asked.
“What did he put on someone’s birth certificate?” someone added.
I guess we’ll see you at the barbecue, Isaiah!
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