Isaiah Hartenstein has spoken about his race, and the internet has thoughts.
According to Complex, the New York Knicks player set the record straight on how he racially identifies himself while appearing on The Roommates Show, a podcast hosted by fellow Knicks players Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.
At the beginning of the episode, Brunson asks the 25-year-old, “Let’s just jump right into it: Are you Black?”
Hart chimed in, co-signing the request.
“I really wanted to cover that,” he said. “I’m actually happy about this. Explain your Blackness or level of Blackness.”
It wasn’t the first time Hartenstein had been confronted with questions regarding his race. Though he appears white and has been deemed so by many, the Oregon native has maintained that he’s mixed-race. He’s explained on several occasions that his mother, Theresa, is a white American woman from Oregon, and his father, born in Germany, is half Black and half white.
“You know it’s, like, light skin? I’m bright skin. I’m above light-skinned,” Harstenstein answered with a chuckle. “My dad is Black.”
The internet has had a lot to say about the now viral moment. Some took issue with his use of the term “bright skin.”
Others were skeptical about his racial identity.
And a few found Hart and Brunson inappropriate.
Hartenstein shared a clip of the episode on his social media and has yet to address the internet’s reaction.
