Covid-19 racism victims ‘close to my heart’, says Jeremy Lin on G League return

NBA veteran scores 25 points in first game back as Santa Cruz Warriors beat Austin Spurs in G League, stretch streak to eight wins

‘One in four Asian Americans has experienced hate since the pandemic started – that’s a lot,’ he tells media after win

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Jeremy Lin in action for the Beijing Ducks in the 2019-2020 Chinese Basketball Association. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 10:41am, 1 Mar 2021Updated: 10:58am, 1 Mar 2021

Jeremy Lin returned to the Santa Cruz Warriors line-up after missing five games and it looked like he had never been away, nevermind at the centre of controversy where the nine-year NBA veteran was called “coronavirus” on court.

Lin alleged that he was called the slur last week and the NBA G League have launched an investigation, though Lin has said he will not “name and shame” the culprit as it will not help counter racism against Asian-Americans.

The off-court interest did not distract the 32-year-old, who is attempting an NBA comeback after spending last year playing in China with the Beijing Ducks.

Lin scored 25 points and served up four assists as the Warriors made it eight wins in a row, extending the best streak in the G League in the bubble at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida. Though Lin admitted afterwards that he struggled to breathe at the start of the game.

Lin – who made several media appearances last week to talk about the rise in violence and racism toward Asian-Americans – was asked about his recent social media post after the win.