Athletes often tend to get blamed for not being honest. The public always gives them a mouthful whenever they beat around the bush on a topic that perhaps could yield a more honest answer.

Of course, when an athlete opens up to people, he or she suddenly get blamed for being too honest.

Sports Illustrated's Pablo Torre lins the day with this interview with Jeremy Lin, and whaddayaknow, the first quote out of Lin's mouth is the following:

"Honestly, I preferred New York."

Good heavens, that's disappointing, right?

Actually, not really. If you read the whole interview, you'll feel much, much better.

"Honestly, I preferred New York," Lin says. "But my main goal in free agency was to go to a team that had plans for me and wanted me. I wanted to have fun playing basketball. ... Now I'm definitely relieved."

Lin probably had more to say about choosing Houston before Torre decided to trim it down with the journalistic elipses, but don't let that stop you. If you're still worried, the interview gives plenty more reasons to relax:

Lin left Houston impressed by the effort and the enthusiasm.

He is happy with his new employer

And finally:

"I love the New York fans to death," Lin says. "That's the biggest reason why I wanted to return to New York. The way they embraced me, the way they supported us this past season, was better than anything I've ever seen or experienced. I'll go to my grave saying that. What New York did for me was unbelievable. I wanted to play in front of those fans for the rest of my career."

If I did what he did in New York, and if the fans turned my name into the most popular pun in the English language? Hell yes, I'd love to play in front of those fans for the rest of my career. Lin had one offer on the table and he took it — he wouldn't have taken it if he didn't want to play in Houston. So he would have preferred New York? Good, now we know he's mentally stable.

Don't let this get to your heads, people. Lin has said all the right things so far (check his Twitter, too, @JLin7) and I have no doubts that petty stuff like this will blow over sooner than later.