Jeremy Lin pledges $150K to help United States fight coronavirus

Demonstrating the kindness we need to see more of right now, Jeremy Lin has pledged $150,000 to help the United States fight coronavirus.

Jeremy Lin is most known for “Linsanity,” a basketball movement that swept across the city of New York and the global NBA landscape during the 2011-12 season as the rose to prominence for the New York Knicks. But as anyone who’s been fortunate enough to have a simple conversation with the guy can attest, he’s an extremely nice and compassionate human being.

It’s no surprise, then, to hear Lin announce he’s doubling down on his efforts to help fight novel coronavirus, a pandemic that’s already swept through China, where he currently plays for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association.

According to an announcement on his instagram page, Lin, the first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA, will be donating $150,000 to the United States Fund for UNICEF to help fight coronavirus.

In his announcement, Lin quoted from the late Tupac Shakur: “You see the old way wasn’t working so it’s on us to do what we gotta do, to survive.”

This demonstration of generosity and goodwill comes after Lin already donated $150,000 to help China in its own fight against the outbreak, and it’s exactly the kind of thing we need to see more of right now.

There’s no question things have been pretty bleak here in the United States and abroad for the past few weeks. With the NBA, NHL, MLB, March Madness and pretty much every other sports league/event shutting down for the foreseeable future, one of Americans’ favorite ways to escape the monotony of everyday life is no longer available to us.

Lin, who’s been playing professionally overseas since winning a championship ring with the Toronto Raptors last year, joins Kevin Love, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Zion Williamson — who all contributed to help pay wages for part-time arena employees who will be out of work with NBA games currently on hiatus — in being generous with his money.

Sure, these guys have millions of dollars, but every gesture like this sets the right example and reminds the world that no matter how dark it gets, acts of kindness in the face of adversity are what help us get through it.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.