Charlotte Hornets guard Jeremy Lin was bullied as a child because of his Asian heritage. Now he is speaking out against bullying as part of a White House public awareness campaign called “Act To Change.”
“For me, growing up Asian American and trying to play basketball was a bit tough at times,” said Lin. “Sometimes people would make fun of me and just say, ‘Oh, you’re Yao Ming.'”
“That’s not that bad, but sometimes it would get worse and people would say, ‘You’re a Chinese import’ or ‘go back to China’ or ‘can you see the scoreboard with your eyes?’ And then sometimes it got really ridiculous.”
Despite the negativity, Lin remained positive in the face of adversity and learned a valuable lesson.
“My lesson that I learned, and if there is anything I can pass on to you guys, is a lot of times bullies bully other people because of insecurities they have in themselves. Don’t let anyone else tell you who you are or what you can or can’t do,” he advised. “Definitely look inside yourself, have confidence in yourself, believe in yourself and understand what makes you such a unique and special person. Everybody has different and really cool characteristics and talents.”
For more information about the “Act To Change” please visit whitehouse.gov/aapi.
