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NFL (National Football League)
SportChina

Chinese-American NFL star Taylor Rapp condemns ‘Chinese virus’ rhetoric and racially charged attacks

  • The promising LA Rams safety calls increased discrimination and xenophobia towards Asian-Americans ‘nonsense’
  • Rapp’s first pro-career trip to China in February cancelled due to Covid-19 outbreak

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NFL star Taylor Rapp signs a football for a student at Castelar Street Elementary School last year. Photo: Handout
Andrew McNicol

As Chinese-American NFL star Taylor Rapp undergoes strict self-imposed house quarantine for his beloved Shanghainese grandparents’ sake, he has a bone to pick with those labelling the Covid-19 pandemic the “Chinese virus”.

“It’s getting pretty hectic over here in the US,” Rapp told the Post after finishing another makeshift workout routine at home in Washington. “My family is good and we’re trying to stay safe during these crazy times. I’m only really worried about my grandparents because they’re in their nineties, so I’m trying to stay extra careful around them.”

As of Thursday evening, the WHO and relevant health authorities estimated the US as having a staggering 215,417 confirmed and presumptive cases combined – overtaking the likes of China, Italy and Spain – and 5,116 deaths.

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“I’ve talked to both my parents and grandparents and they said they haven’t experienced something of this magnitude throughout the world where we’re literally shutting everything down, all business and life,” said the 22-year-old Rapp, born in Atlanta, Georgia, to a Canadian-American father and Chinese mother.

Chinese-American football player Taylor Rapp scores his first touchdown for the LA Rams in December. Photo: Handout
Chinese-American football player Taylor Rapp scores his first touchdown for the LA Rams in December. Photo: Handout
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The Chinese city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, is widely considered the coronavirus’ “ground zero” as the first cluster of outbreaks were reported there late last year. US president Donald Trump has used the term “Chinese virus” multiple times to address the pandemic, fuelling a rise in verbal and physical discrimination towards Asian-Americans and Asians around the world.
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