Jeremy Lin, currently with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA G-League, wrote a long Instagram post talking about the wave of anti-Asian American violence across the country.
“Something is changing in this generation of Asian Americans,” he wrote. “We are tired of hearing that we do not experience racism, we are tired of hearing that we must keep our heads down and not create problems. We are tired of Asian American children growing up and being asked where they REALLY are from, having our mocked eyes, to be objectified as exotic or to hear that we are inherently unattractive. “
Lin’s phrase “tired of hearing that we don’t experience racism” is probably a reference to some involved in social justice movements that paint Asian Americans as privileged people who don’t deserve the same protections afforded to other minority groups. In November 2020, a school district in Washington received national attention after deciding that Asian Americans would no longer be classified as “people of color” due to levels of educational achievement.
“We are tired of the stereotypes in Hollywood that affect our psyche and limit who we think we can be,” continued Lin. “We are tired of being invisible, of being confused with our colleagues or of saying that our struggles are not so real. I want the best for the elders, who worked so hard and sacrificed themselves to live here. I want the best for my niece and nephew and future children. I want better for the next generation of Asian American athletes than having to work so hard to just be ‘deceptively athletic’. “
Lin and other Asian American athletes are often called “deceitfully” or “sneaky” athletic in Scouting reports that compare them to blacks. He concludes his post by stating that he was called a “coronavirus” on the court.
“Being an Asian-American does not mean that we do not experience poverty and racism,” he writes. “Being a 9-year-old NBA veteran does not protect me from being called a ‘coronavirus’ on the court. Being a man of faith does not mean that I do not fight for justice, for myself and for others.”
Lin participated in five games for the Santa Cruz Warriors this season.