The day after basketball officials launched an investigation into guard Jeremy Lin’s complaint that he was called a “coronavirus” on the court, Lin said he was not “denouncing or embarrassing” the individual.
“I know this will disappoint some of you, but I will not name or embarrass anyone”, he wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
“What’s the use in this situation of someone being demolished? It doesn’t make my community safer or solve any of our long-term problems with racism, ”added Lin, who currently plays for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA’s G League.
Lin revealed that he was called a “coronavirus” in a Facebook post on Thursday, while he complained about increased attacks on the Asian-American community after former President Donald Trump used China’s scapegoat for COVID-19. Trump has repeatedly used the racist term “Kung Flu” to refer to the pandemic.
Last year, Lin criticized Trump’s “anti-Chinese message” for strengthening “more hatred of Asians”.
The basketball player on Thursday mentioned the provocation of the coronavirus when discussing his own experiences with discrimination. He said that when he fought discrimination playing at Harvard University, assistant coach Kenny Blakeney “helped me get over it” by sharing his own experiences as a black man.
A better strategy than what he called “naming or shaming” racists is “listening to the voices that teach us how to be anti-racist with ALL people,” wrote Lin in his tweet. “Listen to others’ stories, expand your perspective. I believe that this generation can be different. But we will need empathy and solidarity to get there. “
Lin did not offer details about the “coronavirus” slander in his Facebook post; only that it had happened “on the court”. He has been playing in the Orlando, Florida bubble for his team.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said on Friday that he would like to see the NBA investigate Lin’s complaint. He called Lin’s Facebook post “really powerful”.
“I applaud Jeremy for his words and agree with his feelings about racism against the Asian American community,” he added.
Lin broke barriers when he joined the Golden State Warriors in the 2010-11 season as the first US-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, according to ESPN.
The Stop Asian American and Pacific Islander Hate reporting center documented more than 2,800 hate incidents in the United States from March 19 to December 31, 2020.
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