The NBA Development League G has launched an investigation after Jeremy Lin said it was called a “coronavirus” in court.
Lin, who plays with the Golden State Warriors ’G-League affiliates, the Santa Cruz Warriors, shared in a candid social media post that he experienced an act of racism during a game without saying when or where it happened.
A league spokesman confirmed to the New York Times that an investigation had been opened.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr said he would support Lin and denounced any discriminatory act that caused Lin to rule on racism aimed at Asian Americans.
The first Chinese-American player of Chinese or Taiwanese origin in the NBA, Lin and his The Warriors play in the neutral local G-League bubbles on Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
“Being Asian American does not mean we do not experience poverty and racism. Being a 9-year NBA veteran doesn’t protect me from being called a “coronavirus” on the court, “Lin wrote.” Being a man of faith doesn’t mean I don’t fight for justice, for myself and for others. “We’re back, sharing how we feel. Is anyone listening?”
Kerr wasn’t sure how he would proceed until he gathered more information, but he promised to support Lin. Lin, 32, played 29 games for the Warriors as a rookie in 2010-11, then went to the New York Knicks and gained the popularity generated by the nickname “Linsanity.” An American Taiwanese, Lin was born in the southern California city of Torrance, but grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Very powerful. I applaud Jeremy for his words and echo his feelings about racism against the Asian-American community, ”Kerr said before Golden State hosted Charlotte at the Chase Center. “It’s so ridiculous and obviously generated by a lot of people, including our former president, in relation to the coronavirus originally from China. It’s just shocking. I can’t wrap my head around any of them, but I can’t wrap my head at racism. Generally.
“We are all just flesh and blood. We are all just people. As (Gregg) Pop (Popovich) once said to me, “We are all birth accidents. They were born. We go out as we are. We can’t say anything about it. What we can say is how we treat people.” It amazes me that we can be treated so badly depending on skin color or whatever. So I applaud Jeremy for speaking. “
Lin, who last year pledged up to $ 1 million in coronavirus aid efforts, said there was a generational shift in Asian Americans in a post on his Facebook page:
“Something is changing in this generation of Asian Americans. We’re fed up with being told we don’t experience racism, that we’re fed up with being told to keep our heads down and not get in trouble. We’re fed up with Asian American kids growing up and asking us where they really are from, making us roll their eyes, objectifying us as exotics, or telling us they’re intrinsically unattractive. We are tired of the stereotypes in Hollywood that affect our psyche and limit who we think we can be. We are fed up with being invisible, confusing ourselves with our partner, or saying that our struggles are not so real.
“I want better for my elders who worked so hard and sacrificed so much to make a living here. I want better 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 be “deceptively athletic”.
Lin followed up on that message with another Saturday, saying he had no plans to go public with the player who used the term.
“I know this will disappoint some of you, but I’m not naming or embarrassing anyone,” Lin he tweeted. “What is the use in this situation of someone being overthrown? It doesn’t make my community safer or solve any of our long-term problems with racism. “
In addition to his seasons with the Warriors and Knicks, Lin has also played for the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks and in 2019 became the first Asian-American to win a championship in the United States. NBA, doing it with the Toronto Raptors.