Jeremy Lin said he’s not “naming or shaming anyone” after revealing this week on Facebook he’s been called “coronavirus” on the court. The NBA G League is opening an investigation into Lin’s statements, a source told The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
“What good does it do in this situation for someone to be torn down?” Lin, who plays for the Santa Cruz Warriors, tweeted on Saturday. “It doesn’t make my community safer or solve any of our long-term problems with racism.”
On Thursday, Lin posted a message on his Facebook page about the racism and stereotypes that Asian Americans face. In the post, Lin revealed the verbal slur he suffered since returning to the court with Santa Cruz in the G League’s winter restart.
The first known infections of COVID-19 were discovered in Wuhan, China, in 2019. Lin, a Taiwanese-American, was born in Palo Alto, Calif., and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area before attending Harvard University.
“Being an Asian American doesn’t mean we don’t experience poverty and racism,” Lin wrote. “Being a nine-year NBA veteran doesn’t protect me from being called ‘coronavirus’ on the court.”
Lin has played five games with the G League Warriors, averaging 19.6 points, 7.2 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game in 31.3 minutes.
“Something is changing in this generation of Asian Americans,” Lin wrote Thursday. “We are tired of being told that we don’t experience racism, we are tired of being told to keep our heads down and not make trouble. We are tired of Asian American kids growing up and being asked where they’re REALLY from, of having our eyes mocked, of being objectified as exotic or being told we’re inherently unattractive. We are tired of the stereotypes in Hollywood affecting our psyche and limiting who we think we can be. We are tired of being invisible, of being mistaken for our colleague or told our struggles aren’t as real.
“I want better for my elders who worked so hard and sacrificed so much to make a life for themselves here. I want better for my niece and nephew and future kids. I want better for the next generation of Asian American athletes than to have to work so hard to just be ‘deceptively athletic.’ Being a man of faith doesn’t mean I don’t fight for justice, for myself and for others.
“So here we are again, sharing how we feel. Is anyone listening?”
