Updated March 20th, 2020 at 18:40 IST
Jeremy Lin takes offence to Donald Trump terming coronavirus as ‘Chinese virus’
In one of his tweets, President Trump called COVID-19 the 'Chinese virus', which caused the 31-year-old Jeremy Lin to call out the President for his comment.
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Former New York Knicks star Jeremy Lin called out US President Donald Trump for 'empowering racism' while the world is doing its best to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. In one of his tweets, Trump called COVID-19 the 'Chinese virus', which caused the 31-year-old basketballer to call out the President for his comment. Jeremy Lin played nine seasons with the NBA before joining the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), where he plays for the Beijing Ducks.
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Donald Trump Chinese virus comment causes Jeremy Lin to accuse the President of racism
The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Also read | NBA players with coronavirus: Marcus Smart confirms testing positive for COVID-19 through Twitter video
Jeremy Lin calls President Donald Trump out for his 'Chinese Virus' comments
🤦🏻♂️I wish you would powerfully support the vulnerable people that will suffer due to our mismanagement of this virus, including those that will be affected by the racism you’re empowering https://t.co/QfRHiOFGEm
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7)
And I dont wanna hear about no German measles/Spanish flu bc everyday Asian-Americans inc ppl I know are threatened and physically attacked. I dont give a crap about the history of names rn. What I do know is this subtle anti-Chinese message only empowers more hate towards asians
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7)
While many people supported Jeremy Lin's response, a lot of people thought the tweet was factual in nature. People replied to Jeremy Lin's tweet, explaining to the CBA player that as many publications called it the 'Wuhan virus' before using coronavirus or COVID-19. Some people called out Lin for responding only when Asians were discriminated against, while he ignored racist comments made towards black people in Amerca.
I'm not good with the old school Asian model minority stigma where we won't speak up or stand up for ourselves. In times like now, we truly truly need to stay united. Lets fight this virus TOGETHER!! Wash your hands, practice social distancing, take this seriously, stay safe ❤️
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7)
Also read | NBA players with coronavirus: Two Lakers players test positive for COVID-19
Jeremy Lin donated $150,000 to help with the coronavirus outbreak
While Lin pledged to donate $150,000 dollars, he also donated 1 million Chinese yuan separately. He donated the $150,000 to UNICEF and the remaining to a Chinese foundation. He even made an Instagram post, asking people to take care and spoke about making changes as people.
There are currently ten NBA players with coronavirus. Utah Jazz's Rudy Gobert was the first one to test positive, followed by his teammate Donovan Mitchell and Detroit Pistons Christian Wood. This week, Kevin Durant and three other Nets players tested positive for the virus. On Thursday (Friday IST), Celtics' Marcus Smart and two Lakers players were also diagnosed with COVID-19.
Also read | NBA players with coronavirus: Kevin Durant tests positive for coronavirus
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Published March 20th, 2020 at 18:40 IST