Chinese-American NFL trailblazer Taylor Rapp on being overlooked because of ethnic stereotypes
- Los Angeles Rams safety recalls knowing ‘in the back of my mind’ he would be overlooked in scouting combines
- Rapp wants to be a Jeremy Lin-like figurehead for athletes going through similar cultural complexes and ‘move the needle for Asians everywhere’
There was a time when Chinese-American NFL star Taylor Rapp was ashamed of his part-Asian heritage. The 22-year-old hard-hitting safety, who completed a successful rookie season with the Los Angeles Rams last year, spent most of his childhood trying to figure out why he always looked the odd-one-out in school and practice.
Growing up in Bellingham, Washington – a west coast city made up of nearly 80 per cent Caucasians, according to Data USA – Rapp and older brother Austin were often looked after by his Shanghai-raised grandparents while his Canadian-American father and Chinese mother worked.
And while Rapp – Chinese name Chi Youjin – welcomed the cultural symphonies within the household, it always felt like he was “putting on a mask” in the real world. He would be teased and taunted with all the typical xenophobic slurs, be it about the size of his eyes or being labelled “the Ch-word”. Naturally, this made cultural integration with peers that much more intimidating.
“There are not many Asian-Americans like me in Bellingham,” Rapp told The Post amid his strict covid-19 self-quarantine schedule. “It was definitely hard to embrace. For me, trying to play sports and make it to college in sports – there are not a lot of Asian-Americans to look up to in both college and pro sports.
“Every other kid had someone to look up to or relate to. I didn’t really have that because there weren’t that many Asians in, well, any sport,” he said, adding that his only Asian role model was Taiwanese-American NBA player Jeremy Lin.