I don’t need to go over all the details of the Amar’e Stoudemire being Jewish claims (you can read all about it here), but needless to say, since the story came out, I had been suspicious of Amar’e being an “official” Jew. I wasn’t denying he was Jewish. I really just felt like we need a tad more proof.
Amar’e has finally provided us with some more concrete answers about his faith in an interview with Israeli television.
It’s funny though. When this story broke, I was all about getting to the bottom of this story. But now, I kind of half-feel bad for Amar’e. I don’t think he could have ever predicted that a couple of twitter posts would have exploded into a national story about his faith.
And while I don’t think Amar’e minds being embraced by the Jewish community, who am I to question what religious group he wants to associate with? The Jewish community became so obsessed with this story so quickly that it’s almost like Amar’e had to turn onto the defensive (for the first time in his basketball career…zing!), having to sit down and explain his Judaism.
Anyways, maybe we should put this story to rest. If Amar’e wants to come and talk Judaism with us, he is welcome. But I don’t really need to hear more questions about if he is Jewish or not. So I’m sorry for that.
