Former NBA guard Jeremy Lin was not pleased with how President Donald Trump addressed the nation via Twitter, calling the novel coronavirus a “Chinese Virus,” a term that unfairly blamed the spread of this pandemic on the people of China.

Lin, who has Chinese heritage, was quick to tweet-quote Trump, denouncing him for racist intent:

In a phone conversation with Mark Medina of USA TODAY Sports, Jeremy Lin noted how Trump's words have had a deep effect on how Asian-Americans are being treated:

“I don’t want any ethnic group or people group to be attacked or to have to deal with the racism,” said the former NBA talent. “If there is something that is aiding that, that would compel me to speak out. At that moment in time, I felt like a lot of Asian-Americans were being attacked and are still being attacked.”

Since finishing last NBA season with the Toronto Raptors, he signed with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. The CBA has yet to resume operations since coming to a halt on Jan. 19, even after international players were called back to play out the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign.

“We're basically just waiting until June to decide whether we play in July or not,” the former NBA star told USA TODAY Sports from Beijing. “That's the current situation. We're kind of in limbo right now.”

Jeremy Lin has been a longtime advocate for diversity and has proudly represented his Chinese-American roots, especially in moments of crisis. The 31-year-old is going through the same issues most Americans are undergoing at this time, only asking for fair treatment and empathy during a pandemic that is humbling the world.