Former NBA guard Jeremy Lin pledged $1 million on Monday in an effort to help the fight against the coronavirus, according to AFP.
Lin, who became famous with the Knicks in 2012 with the “Linsanity” era, will donate $500,000, but he isn't stopping there. The 31-year-old will also match all donations up to an additional $500,000.
“One simple way to be the light is to support organisations doing crucial work during the crisis,” Lin wrote in making his pledge.
Sadly, many members of the Asian community have been slandered during this uncertain time. Lin, who now plays for the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association, says he has dealt with racial profiling his entire life:
“You know, my whole life, I’ve been treated a certain way because I’m Asian,” Lin added, mentioning some of the racial stereotypes he has been subjected to.
“I’ve even been asked if I can see. I’ve been told to go back to where I came from.
“During the height of ‘Linsanity' I was still the butt of many Asian jokes.”
According to most reports, the coronavirus originated in China before spreading across the globe. The NBA decided to suspend the 2019-20 regular season in mid-March after Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert tested positive. His teammate, Donovan Mitchell, tested positive the next day. Since then, several other players and staffers around the league have contracted the virus.
Lin is currently in China awaiting the restart of the CBA season. He offered a few words of advice after making his donation:
“No one knows how devastating the impact of this crisis will be, but the projections aren’t good,” Lin wrote. “We’re going to be recovering from this for a long time. But in the process, there will be so, so many opportunities to choose light.”
At this point, it's not clear when (or if) the 2019-20 NBA season will resume. Some league officials are hoping to play games at a later date this year, but no timetable has been set in stone.
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