This year Trayvon Martin would have turned 26 years old, but he was killed as a 17-year-old by George Zimmerman. I remember my economics teacher at school saying that this was going to be a significant moment in history. While he was correct, the summer of 2020 has probably superseded that one moment. It should not be taboo to think that black lives matter but here we are, fighting for a large population of the country to still have basic human treatment.
The NBA is no stranger to its players using their platforms to speak on social justice issues. This precedent was set by the Miami Heat’s decision to wear hoodies to stand in solidarity with Trayvon Martin. Last summer the NBA had “Black Lives Matter” written on their main court in the NBA Bubble. Now in 2021, the players within the league are doing what they can to stop Asian hate.
The name Jeremy Lin or Linsanity might still resonate with some casual basketball fans. Lin is a 9-year NBA veteran and was a member of the 2019 world champion Toronto Raptors. Jeremy Lin is no stranger to success but unfortunately, he is also familiar with the racism that he and many other Asians are subject to.
Another side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an uptick in Asian based racism because of the pandemic origins in China. In Lin’s Facebook post he said, “We are tired of being told that we don't experience racism, we are tired of being told to keep our heads down and not make trouble.”. In the same Facebook post, Lin admitted that while playing in an NBA G-League game he was called “coronavirus” by an opposing player.
In the NBA there are only three active Asian players with Yuta Watanabe and Rui Hachimura joining Jeremy Lin as the only Asian representation in the league. However, many of the league’s brightest stars and biggest names came to support the hurting community after the devastating shootings took place in Atlanta.
The amount of NBA players that came forward to show their support of the Asian community is a huge step towards a step in the right direction. It costs zero dollars to be an ally to a community of marginalized people. In August, Stop AAPI Hate — a coalition of Asian American advocacy groups — issued a report stating it received more than 2,500 reports of hate and discrimination across the country since the group was founded last March. The group said it received data from 47 states, with 46% of the incidents taking place in California and 14% in New York.
While the voice of the NBA players should continue to beg for change, much of this fall on the shoulders of people like us. The United States of America has been anything but a pillar of excellence with their overall handling of race relations as a country. There is no reason that the African American, the Asian community or any non-white community should live as lesser citizens.
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