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I was on a plane to Dallas last week when I noticed a passenger seated in front of me reading a Wall Street Journal article on Amare Stoudemire’s trip to Israel. I’d been hearing about Amar’e's Jewish heritage proclamations for a couple of weeks and thought it was, you know, interesting, but it took seeing the story in the WSJ to pique my interest.

My initial thought was a cynical one: New York City is home to more Jews than any other place in the world besides Israel. I wouldn’t put it past a guy who actively campaigned for All-Star team votes the last two years to pick a religious faith on the eve of his debut as a Knick just to score some initial points with fans.

My second thought was how would we be reacting if this was a star white athlete claiming that his “tru culture” was Islam and started signing off his Twitter updates with As-Salumu Alaykim? How would we interpret his journey to Mecca? What would we think of his plan to observe all Muslim holidays? Wouldn’t someone out there consider it a grand, disingenuous act of cultural appropriation? Would any of us feel in any way discomforted by his trainer taking on the role of spokesman? Would the highly respected Wall Street Journal lay out a flattering full-page spread? These are just a few questions to ponder…

My third thought was that maybe Amar’e was a little confused about his mother’s Hebrew roots. You see, there is a religious sect called the Black Hebrews. If you live in New York City you’ve probably seen them proselytizing on street corners. Most of us ignore them for obvious reasons: they appear incredibly hostile toward whites and express  black supremacist views. Among their teachings are:

1. All Jews were originally black

2. White Jews are frauds

3. African Americans are descendents of the lost tribes of Israel

4. Jesus was an adherent to Judaism and a prophet, not God or his son

Their principles originate from the Church of the Living God, which was established  in the Jim Crow South in the late 19th century as what author James Landing calls “an organized social movement.” By most accounts it cobbles together Christianity, Judaism, cultural black nationalism,  the Jewish Talmud. This is interesting because Stoudemire’s family originates from the South and he grew up in the church, which is to say it’s quite possible that he was exposed to Jewish culture and does feel a connection to it.

What’s also interesting, but also troubling, is that the Wall Street Journal failed to even address the possibility that the Jewish heritage to which Amar’e claims an affinity might be the very Black Hebrews who have been heretofore denied legitimacy by the greater Jewish community. The automatic assumption is that there is only one Jewish culture to which he could possibly be referring. It’s also troubling that no mention is ever made of the history of Black Jews in the  article itself. By at least one account, there are between 40,000 and 500,000 black Jews in America. One group, The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, even migrated to Israel in 1969 and remained despite the Israeli government’s refusal to grant them automatic citizenship granted to all other Jews. (Would Amar’e — the man whose Israeli fans chanted “MVP” as he walked the streets —  meet a similar fate?)

What the  WSJ article does  mention is Amar’e's mother’s substance abuse issues and stints in jail, right after dispelling the rumor that she may have been religiously Jewish. The not so subtle suggestion:  she’s probably crazy, therefore whatever Amar’e thinks isn’t real.

I’m in no way implying that Amar’e should look into joining a Black Hebrew sect once he moves to New York. All I’m suggesting is that the article could’ve done more. If the aim is to educate people so that they take what Amar’e is doing seriously, then the article itself has to do more than present a kind of human interest story. If I don’t know any better, I’m left thinking that he’s the only black person to ever claim Jewish heritage, which is so far from the truth that it’s dangerously irresponsible.

There’s also another piece to the story that the WSJ failed to address: Amar’e himself. Anyone who’s followed his career since he entered the league in 2002 knows that he’s his own person. (I won’t say he’s unusual because the suggestion there is that the rest of the league is ordinary, which I don’t know). From his unique fashion sense:

To his political and social awareness:

Amar’e in Sierra Leone

To his quirky sense of humor:

To his unorthodox approach to garnering All-Star Game votes:

Amar’e is an interesting young man who hasn’t allowed fame or the expectations  of being a pro ball player rob him of his right to search, explore, have fun and be young. I think I underestimated his addition to Knicks roster and New York sports culture because of Stephon Marbury.  Steph was also a former Sun with a quirky personality, a keen fashion sense, a max contract and a genuine belief that he was the best at his position in the game. He was also the last Knick to, if  nothing else, capture the interest of New York fans.

We all know how Steph’s tenure panned out:

To be honest, my own hesitancy about embracing Amar’e isn’t about his eyes or his knees or his ability to play without Steve Nash. My hesitancy has been about his personality. Quirky NBA players are cute for a while. Then it gets ugly. Just ask Gilbert Arenas.

But what if Amar’e is  a real throwback? And not just because of his on-court look:

What if he’s a modern-day mix of Kareem,

and Walt Frazier,

With a little Bill Walton thrown in for good measure?

What if he turns out to be the most compelling Knick since Patrick Ewing?

Most New York fans wanted Lebron this summer, but I don’t think most have stopped to consider what they’re getting with Amar’e. The WSJ article pointed out that he’s a bonafide star and attempted to portray him as a player with substance, but it didn’t take us far enough into the unique character who calls himself STAT (Standing Tall And Talented), wears a Black Jesus neck tattoo:

and a Chosen 1 tattoo across his back:

As the summer presses on and training camp nears I find myself liking Amar’e as a Knick more and more. But I’m liking him as a New Yorker just as much. He strikes me as someone who isn’t afraid of finding himself in front of the whole world, of having fun with himself and even taking risks that others might avoid: all qualities that a New Yorker needs to succeeed. He strikes me as someone who wants to be a leader and is willing to embrace all that leadership entails. In Phoenix his unique character was overshadowed first by Steve Nash’s passion for skateboards, eco-friendly cars and floppy hair, then, for a season, by Shaq being Shaq. In New York, this year at least, Amar’e will finally have his chance to really prove he is capable of his self-proclaimed chosenness.