Christian NBA star Jeremy Lin has defended Steph Curry after President Donald Trump tweeted that he had rescinded his White House invitation to the Golden State Warriors and shared his thoughts on today's "scary" and "very serious" political climate.
Last week, the Golden State Warriors announced they will officially skip the traditional White House visit following Trump's criticism of Curry, who said he didn't want to visit the White House amid ongoing racial tension.
"It's great for everyone to take a stand," Lin, who was signed to the Brooklyn Nets last year, told the New York Post. "Obviously the invite was rescinded, which is a tough situation to be in. But looking at Steph [Curry] and the Warriors, I don't think they could've done anything differently. A lot of what Steph described, I feel as well. I'm a minority, too. I can't always fully understand a lot of the things that're going on, but I can definitely to some degree understand. That's something I've been reading up on every day."
During a rally in Alabama, President Trump also called any NFL player who kneels during the National Anthem a "son of a b****" who should be fired.
Lin said that in light of the "scary" political climate, he's trying to figure out how to use his platform for good.
"It's something that's scary. It's something that's very serious. I'm not big into politics, but right now, I really am in terms of learning and trying to figure out how do I use my platform and my voice to take a stand? Because at the end of the day, we see a lot of injustice still, and things aren't the way we thought they should be in America, or aren't the way they wish they could be."
In October, the Brooklyn Nets stood arm-in-arm for the national anthem in a show of solidarity before their preseason game against the Detroit Pistons.
"The biggest thing is it shows we all can acknowledge there is an issue at hand,'' Lin said at the time. "But how you go about that is what we tried to do: arms around each other, solidarity, we're doing this together.
"This isn't anti-cops," he emphasized. "This country needs cops. This isn't anti-minority. This country needs minorities. This is what makes our nation great. We need both. We need more compassion and more empathy. Or maybe not empathy, but maybe more sympathy, where guys take the time to really put themselves in someone else's shoes.
He added, "If I'm a minority, I'd have to think about what it's like to be the wife of a cop, scared every time her husband has to go to work. If I'm on the other side, I have to be able to think about what it's like to be the family member of an African-American male who might get [killed]."
Lin, whose parents migrated to the United States from Taiwan during the 1970s, has previously opened up about the difficulties he's faced as a minority.
After comedian Chris Rock stereotyped Asians during an onstage skit at Sunday's Oscars 2016, the basketball star vented his frustration to Twitter, saying he is "tired of it being 'cool' and 'OK' to bash Asians."
He later recalled to ESPN: "Just the other night in Brooklyn, I was trying to leave [Barclays Center] and one of the ladies was like, 'Hey, I need your credentials for you to pass.' And then someone else was like, 'Oh, he's a player.' I'm used to it by now. It's just part of being Asian in the NBA."
"It's one of those things where it literally happens everywhere," Lin said. "At opposing arenas, it happens all the time."
Lin said people have called him other inappropriate racial terms, which at times caused him to lash out.
"I remember one time I got really upset, kind of lost control and just responded really negatively. My coach told me after the game, 'Jeremy, when people say that to you they're trying to get in your head,'" Lin recalled. "Honestly the best thing to do is take that negative energy and turn it into positive energy. Fuel yourself, motivate yourself with that. Don't react in anger."
