Coronavirus: Jeremy Lin launches US$1 million charity campaign and urges fans to ‘choose light’

NBA champion reflects in Players’ Tribune article on experience in China and US, his own Covid-19 scare and concerns

Beijing Ducks star urges everyone to ‘speak up and fight racism and xenophobia in any form’ while supporting community

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Jeremy Lin speaks to the media after signing for the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association. Photo: Simon Song

Published: 11:40am, 14 Apr 2020Updated: 12:38am, 15 Apr 2020

“This moment we’re living through is about darkness vs light,” Jeremy Lin wrote on the Players’ Tribune website as he called for people to “choose light” amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 31-year-old, who swapped the NBA for the Chinese Basketball Association last summer, said he has had a lot of time to think about things during the 14-day quarantine he was placed in after returning to Beijing from the US last month. He also admitted he has not been so thoughtful throughout the outbreak.

“When the Covid-19 outbreak started, I was at the epicentre of it all. And I didn’t take it remotely seriously. 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.”

It did not get any realer for the Beijing Ducks player, even when the CBA called the season off ahead of the Lunar New Year in January.

“When the CBA shut down, I looked at it like, ‘Alright, whatever, at least I’ll get back to California to see my family, eat In-N-Out burgers and catch my breath before the season starts back up.’ To be honest, I was actually excited – I’m always down for a trip home and a double-double animal style.

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