How Asian American and Pacific Islander athletes in the NFL express their cultural pride
By TERRY TANG
Associated Press
Historically, Asian Americans have been stereotyped as more brains than brawn or “foreigners” when it comes to sports like football. But they have had some sort of presence on the NFL field for nearly a century. Meanwhile, football has been a mainstay in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities for decades and yielded a fair share of star athletes. Current and former athletes of AAPI heritage agree it feels like any misconceptions have mostly faded. But, what’s been encouraging in recent years is being able to incorporate their culture on a public stage and have the public embrace it as well.