Jeremy Lin Speaks On Racism In The NBA: Says He Was Called ‘Coronavirus’ On The Court

Anti-Asian violence in America has been on the rise amid the arrival of the coronavirus, early last-year. This harkens back to a time in our country post 9/11, when hate crimes against South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Middle Eastern citizens were prevalent. Today, the primary targets of bias are East Asians, which most will attribute to former President Donald Trump calling the COVID-19 the “China-Virus”. As of December, 259 anti-Asian incidents in New York were reported to “Stop AAPI Hate” - an organization developed to help report anti-Asian violence during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Anti-Asian violence is becoming a major topic of discussion, especially in the media. ABC’s JuJu Chang conducted a very controversial profile about Anti-Asian violence, which some believe to have painted Black people in a negative light. It opened a discussion across social media, with the sentiment being that the profile made Black people out to be responsible for the increase in Anti-Asian crime. Adding to the controversy, the subjects in the interviews said that they have “talks'' with their children about dangerous people (Black people), similar to the talks that “Blacks” (as JuJu Chang referred to Black-people) have with their children about the police. Ever since that profile was released, Black people have been dragging JuJu Chang for what they feel was perpetuating division amongst two marginalized groups of people.

Ju Ju insists that this was not her intention at all, and that “fair minded person would see that the reporting and the sensibilities are the exact opposite of that (outraged Black people) are alleging”

The most recent high-profile Asian-American to speak out about Anti-Asian discriminations, is the NBA’s Jeremy Lin. Lin claimed that he was called “Coronavirus” on the court, by a racist player. The NBA announced that they are opening an investigation on the alleged racism. There has been no further detail released regarding the investigation.

“Being a 9 year NBA veteran doesn’t protect me from being called ‘coronavirus’ on the court. Being a man of faith doesn’t mean I don’t fight for justice, for myself and for others.” Lin disclosed in a Facebook post

He later Tweeted that this was not going to be an opportunity to attack anyone or place any blame. "I know this will disappoint some of you but I'm not naming or shaming anyone, What good does it do in this situation for someone to be torn down? It doesn't make my community safer or solve any of our long-term problems with racism."

Lin has been very candid in the past about his experience with racism, back in 2017 he revealed that he has received racist taunts while in the NBA - but it was a lot worse when he played for Harvard while in College. It was his Black coach that helped guide him through that period in his life. Lin explained- "When I experienced racism in the Ivy League, it was my assistant coach Kenny Blakeney that talked me through it.He shared with me his own experiences as a Black man -- stories of racism I couldn't begin to comprehend. Stories of being called the n-word and having things thrown at him from cars. He drew from his experiences with identity to teach me how to stay strong in mine. He was also the first person to tell me I was an NBA player as a sophomore at Harvard. I thought he was crazy."