Jeremy Lin in coronavirus quarantine in China ahead of CBA restart
- NBA champion and other foreigners face 14-day quarantine, with 31-year-old posting updates on social media
- Chinese Basketball Association plans to resume season in mid-April but needs approval from Centre for Disease Control
NBA champion Jeremy Lin has returned to Beijing ahead of the Chinese Basketball Association season resuming next month.
Lin had been back in his native California for two months since the CBA suspended action indefinitely on February 1 in response to the coronavirus break.
Now, with the situation in China seeming to calm in comparison to cases rising globally, Lin and the league’s other foreign players have been called back and are returning.
The 31-year-old marked his return – via a 40-hour journey from the Bay Area – with an Instagram post of him sat astride the Great Wall near Beijing, which he captioned with an update.
“Safely landed back in Beijing to finish out the CBA season! Excited to hoop again, but leaving the bay worried and with a heavy heart for the sick, the jobless and all those fighting fear, anxiety and stress over the unknown future.
“Shoutout to our medical staff in the 50 states for working tirelessly and everyone keep doing your part in slowing the virus!
“It's been an awesome 2 months camped out in the gym … basketball has never been more meaningful. The world needs basketball now more than ever. I still remember when I went through my toughest moments and worst injuries, you guys were there for me. I hope to return the favour. As all you beloved fans told me the day after my knee injury, keep fighting bc [because] we're #NeverDone.”
He also posted on his Weibo, where he shared a photo of him standing by a medical worker at the airport, whose hazmat suit he had signed. Lin’s post trended on the platform.
Lin and his fellow returnees all face a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival and Lin has posted on his Instagram stories of his room for the period.
“MTV Cribs, Quarantine Day 1.” he wrote in the first video, “No leaving this room at all for the next 14 days.” The second followed suit. “MTV Cribs, Quarantine Day 2,” Lin wrote. “Removed furniture, added workout gear, organised my essentials.”
The CBA is set to resume with Lin’s Beijing Ducks pushing for the play-offs. Lin is at the heart of that with 24.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game so far in his debut season.
Aside from Lin, other big former-NBA names have returned or on their way, including Lance Stephenson, Kyle Fogg, Ty Lawson, Pooh Jeter and Donatas Motiejunas.
Iranian centre Hamed Haddadi, who previously played in the NBA, is so far unable to return from his homeland.
Beijing media reported that the Qingdao Doublestar Eagles team were informed by the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) that someone on their flight back from Serbia had tested positive. None of the players have since tested positive.
Qingdao is understood to be one of the cities the CBA plan to finish out the season. Their plan, which sees the league resume in mid-April, is yet to be approved by the General Adminstration for Sport, as per reports. The also need the approval of the CDC.
One person who will not be returning to the CBA is Shanghai Sharks MC Jayme Lawman after the Briton likened his quarantine conditions to prison and North Korea on Weibo. “I wonder if I’ve mistakenly flown to North Korea,” he wrote in Chinese.
Despite deleting the posts and apologising, Lawman was sacked from his role with the team after online outrage.
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