Former NBA star Jeremy Lin says he has been called a “coronavirus” on the field

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“Being a 9-year NBA veteran doesn’t protect me from being called a ‘coronavirus’ on the field,” the former New York Knicks star wrote on Facebook.

Lin, who currently plays for the Santa Cruz Warriors, which is a G-League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, on Thursday expressed his anxiety over racism and violence targeting Asian Americans.

In his post, Lin recounted the different ways in which Asian Americans experience racism, prejudice, and bigotry.

“Something is changing in this generation of Asian Americans. We are tired of being told we are not experiencing racism, we are tired of being told to keep our heads down and not get in trouble,” he wrote.

“We are tired of raising Asian American children and being asked where they really are, making fun of us, being objectified as exotic, or telling ourselves that we are inherently unattractive. We are tired of the stereotypes in Hollywood that affect our psyche and the limitation of who we think we can be. We are tired of being invisible, confusing ourselves with our colleague, or being told that our struggles are not as real.

In 2019, Lin became the first Asian American to win an NBA title while playing for the Toronto Raptors. Lin became a household name in 2012, when she appeared as the striking star of the New York Knicks. His success was nicknamed “Linsanity.”

Lin, who has helped other Asian-American athletes fight racist stereotypes, is the latest profile figure to stop violence against the AAPI community.

Earlier this month, actress Olivia Munn joined the effort to help find a man who attacked an Asian American woman on the streets of New York, while actors Daniel Wu and Daniel Dae Kim teamed up to offer a reward. of $ 25,000 for the information that led to his arrest in the attacks. which took place in Chinatown, Oakland.

A “very scary moment” for AAPI

US communities and lawyers have been on high alert in recent weeks, following a series of recent attacks on Asian Americans.

Although it is not clear what fuels the more recent incidents, lawyers and authorities have seen a pattern of targeted hatred since the coronavirus pandemic began.

California is allocating $ 1.4 million to track and stop attacks on Asian Americans
Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, said anti-Asian sentiment was linked to the misconception that Asians could be accused of the pandemic.
Choi is also one of the co-founders of Stop APPI Hate, a coalition that documented anti-Asian hatred and discrimination since March last year. Nearly a year after its inception, the coalition has received more than 3,000 direct reports of anti-Asian incidents, Choi said.

“It’s a very scary time, a very worrying time, driven by anxiety, because Asian Americans feel they are facing so much racism and bigotry. Some are legitimately afraid to leave their homes,” Choi told CNN on Friday. .

CNN’s David Close contributed to this report.

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