Jeremy Lin LA Mom
NBA player Jeremy Lin of Los Angeles Lakers attends a promotional event as part of his Asia tour, in Shanghai July 14, 2014. Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • Godfrey Gao died due to cardiac arrest in a reality show taping.
  • Jeremy Lin shared their bond, especially during his recovery from injury.
  • Gao’s mom asked the public to stop spreading out images and videos of his son’s death.

Beijing Ducks’s star Jeremy Lin commemorated his best friend Godfrey Gao before three weeks after the actor’s death before the game against the Shanghai Sharks. Gao was a huge basketball fan and was a Lin follower ever since.

Posted on Weibo that was reposted on Twitter, the 31-year old guard shared a photo album that contains a photo of him and the late model-actor. With Lin creating fund-raising for his charity works, Gao is an avid supporter of the Harvard alum’s advocacies.

Lin revealed on his tribute post on social media that Gao was with him in Vancouver as he was recuperating from his injury and provided suits for his entire CBA team as a present. He also had a customized shoe worn during their game to honor his best friend. Lin and the Beijing Ducks won the game in a one-sided showdown at home against Bayi Rockets, 105-83.

A post shared by instagram

Reports from Asia One shared criticisms of people for a video that surfaced which shows how the 35-year old Gao collapsed while running. Gao was part of a Chinese sports reality show “Chase Me” and was on the taping of the said show when he suffered cardiac arrest.

Yahoo! Sports reported that Gao was rushed to the hospital during the incident but people were criticizing the staff that checked on Gao, citing their actions towards Gao in hopes of reviving the reality show contestant, and as well as the hosts and crew of the show that can be heard laughing in the background as Gao was already down.

Gao’s mother Tan Say Tin appealed to the public to stop spreading the videos and images of the unfortunate incident, which was released via his son’s agency as their official statement on Thursday. Tan asked the public to give their family time to mourn during a difficult situation. She also expressed her gratitude towards everybody who shared their “love and concern” to them and asked the people to send their love as her son bid his goodbyes on December 15, three weeks after his untimely loss.

Gao is popularly known as the first-ever Asian face of Louis Vuitton and is a huge basketball fan. He is also very supportive of Lin’s celebrity charity games, attending all of his events in hopes of supporting underprivileged kids.

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