Coronavirus: Jeremy Lin Calls For Unity Amid COVID-19, Says Crisis Not About Politics

Jeremy Lin is calling for unity as the world combats the Coronavirus crisis. As he voiced out his resentment on the rampant racism amid the pandemic, the former NBA player stressed that today's situation is not an issue of dispute between affected countries, nor is it about political differences.

"I know there are people out there who want this to be about country vs. country. East vs. West. They want this to be about politics. Left vs. right," Lin wrote on a lengthy piece at the Players' Tribune on Monday. "But this isn’t about that."

Since the global threat started, the Asian-American has never backed down from defending his race, which has been the subject of discrimination due to the alleged origin of the virus.

Lin, who plays for the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association, however, admitted to being selfish at first when the first wave of the outbreak was reported. It was something that he felt embarrassed for.

"When the COVID-19 outbreak started, I was at the epicenter of it all. And I didn’t take it remotely seriously," he continued. "Maybe it’s just human nature, I don’t know. People were dying in the country where I was playing basketball, in the country where my grandparents were born and raised, and what was I thinking about? Honestly, I was only thinking about myself."

And so when the reality about the worldwide crisis finally struck him, Lin realized that his fellow Asians are dealing with two kinds of threats: the fatal virus and the ruthless racism they have to endure every day.

"Every Asian American I know knows someone who has been targeted during this time. In fact, anti-Asian racism is rapidly increasing all over the world. It’s so crazy and sad," his piece continued.

"And even though we shouldn’t have to simultaneously fight the virus and racism, I will stand tall and join alongside those boldly speaking out. In the midst of the hate and negativity, let’s continue to call out racism and stand proud in our Asian identities."

Lin ended his letter by emphasizing on his call for unity in the middle of the challenging period.

"If your only takeaway from this article is about racism, then I’ve failed in communicating. Again, at a time like this that requires everyone uniting to survive, COVID-19 shouldn’t be about East vs. West, politics, race or anything other than helping as many people as we can survive. Serving as many hungry people as we can. Comforting as many fearful people as we can. Loving as many hurt people as we can — physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. These are what should be the main takeaway. And all that ultimately comes down to light vs. darkness," he added.

Lin was a journeyman in the NBA who rose to fame after his unprecedented run with the New York Knicks in 2012 that will forever be known as "Linsanity". Since then, he has taken pride in becoming the symbol of the Asian heritage in a sport dominated by the Western race.