Jeremy Lin has defended J.J. Redick after he angered Chinese NBA fans with a racial slur.
JJ Redick had angered Chinese NBA fans after wishing all of the NBA’s “chink” fans a happy Chinese New Year as part of a video compilation for Tencent.
“I just want to wish all the NBA chink fans in China a happy new year,” said the Philadelphia 76ers star.
Reddick then posted an apology on Twitter, claiming he was “tongue-tied”.
“Clearly I was tongue-tied, as the word I purportedly said is not in my vocabulary,” he wrote. “I’m disappointed that anyone would think I would use that word.”
“I was intending to say ‘NBA Chinese fans,'” he added. “It sounded weird in my mind so I changed it mid-sentence to ‘NBA fans in China'”.
Please read. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/phL6v7Voeb
— JJ Redick (@JJRedick) February 19, 2018
Brooklyn Nets point guard and NBA’s first Chinese American player Jeremy Lin also posted on Twitter in defence of Redick.
“I spoke to JJ today on the phone for a long time,” Line wrote. “I truly believe he didn’t say a racial slur and that he has a great deal of respect towards Chinese people.”
“Everyone knows that this word should never be used in referring to Chinese people and everyone is committed to Chinese fans being treated with the equality and respect that they deserve,” Lin added.
“Being Chinese is so important to me,” Lin continued. “I will do everything I can to work with the NBA to help continue [to] teach fans about the depth and beauty of Chinese culture and the importance of China to basketball culture.”
“To the fans, I encourage you not to use hateful language towards the NBA and JJ.”
wanted to address this… pic.twitter.com/3oB2mUvQpc
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) February 19, 2018
In October 2017, Lin came under fire for cultural appropriation in regards to his hairstyle.