Jeremy Lin back in New York – joins Naomi Osaka in Times Square ad for Asian-American NGO campaign
- NBA free agent part of advertising campaign for the See Us Unite campaign backed by The Asian-American Foundation as fans ask what next?
- ‘Linsanity’ star had breakout in NYC but with NBA career on pause he is leaning into AAPI community activism
But sadly for Knicks fans it is not to return to Madison Square Garden but as part of a huge advertising campaign for The Asian-American Foundation- supported “See Us Unite” campaign.
Film and television stars Olivia Munn and Henry Golding have been confirmed for the MTV special, which features a swathe of Asian-American celebrities and musicians.
Lin, who also played for the Brookyln Nets in his NBA career, posted a video of the adverts in Times Square on his Instagram on Monday night.
“Back in New Yorkkkk,” he wrote alongside a Statue of Liberty emoji. “See us defy expectations, See us create change, See us change minds, See us make history, SEE US!!”
Jeremy Lin ‘in contact’ with Chinese basketball teams: reports
The 32-year-old tagged Osaka and others who appear in the advert: actor Daniel Dae Kim, Fareed Zakaria and Lisa Ling. He also used the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month hashtag.
Lin’s fans were quick to ask what this meant for the star’s NBA return, with Lin having attempted to return to the league this season after spending the previous campaign with the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association.
He played in the NBA G League bubble this season but there has been no news on a contract, with the deadline to play in this season’s play-offs coming at the end of the regular season on Sunday night (US time).
“You goin back to the Knicks?,” asked one user, which saw other fans raise the possibilities of the Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors. There has been no word on a contract but Lin has been seen continuing to work out in California.
“See Us Unite was created by a coalition of non-profits including The Asian-American Foundation (TAAF), the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, The Henry Luce Foundation and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation in service of solidarity with the AAPI Community,” it says on the TAAF website.
The NGO was started earlier this month as a countermeasure against the rise in violence against the Asian-American Pacific Islander community in the US.
Jeremy Lin? Tiger Woods? Survey says 42 per cent of US can’t name single Asian-American
Lin was joined by Osaka and fellow basketball stars Kevin Durant and James Harden in a video to launch the NGO, which had raised US$250 million by launch – the largest funding for an Asian-American organisation on record.
The nine-year NBA veteran has been an outspoken voice against anti-Asian hate in the US in recent months.
Lin will appear among a star-studded panel at the United We Stand event for the Act To Change NGO on Wednesday, May 18 – the third annual Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Day Against Bullying + Hate.
