Ines Kanter Freedom of the Boston Celtics criticized former NBA player Jeremy Lin for choosing to play in the Chinese Basketball Association and called on him to “stand with Taiwan.”
Hurriya, 29, originally from Turkey, has been outspoken on various social and political issues, especially being critical of communist and oppressive regimes. Lin, 33, a guard for the Peking Ducks.
“Shame on you @JLin7,” Freedom Books Sunday morning in a post on his verified Twitter account. “Didn’t you have enough filthy CCP money to feed you to keep you silent? How disgusted you are to turn your back against your country and people. Stand with Taiwan! Stop bowing to money and dictatorship. Morality over money brother.”
Lin, who previously played for the Beijing Ducks during the 2019-20 season, attempted a return to the NBA and joined the Santa Cruz Minor League Warriors team in the NBA J-League last year.
Lynn played well, averaging 19.8 points per game and 6.4 assists with Santa Cruz in nine games, eight of which started. In May, however, Lin acknowledged that his comeback bid would not be fully completed and announced that he had given up his hopes of returning to the NBA after a call-up to the league never came.
“For months, I’ve seen others get contracts and chances and chances,” Lin wrote on Instagram May 18, “I told myself I only needed a ten-day contract, one chance to get back on the floor and I’d lose the water.” After all this, my whole career began – one chance to prove myself. For reasons I will never fully know, this opportunity never materialized. But I proved that I’m better than ever and a player in the NBA.”
Lin then announced in June that he would return to the Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association for the 2021-22 season.
“Don’t regret the past, excited about the future,” Lin wrote in a Twitter post in June. “I still have a lot of basketball in me and we’ll see where that path goes. Peking duck, excited to be back! Thank you all for going on this journey with me #I never got to”
Liberty became a US citizen on November 29 and changed his surname in celebration of the event. He has routinely criticized the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to Freedom, the Turkish government put his name on an Interpol list and revoked his passport in 2017. Freedom has described the past six years as “extremely cruel” with Turkey condemning his actions and his inability to return to his homeland.
Lin became the first American-born player of Taiwanese or Chinese descent in NBA history when he broke into the league with the Warriors during the 2010-11 season. Lynn became a household name during his time with the Knicks in 2011-12. Lane was part of a very small group of NBA players who identify as Asian American or Asian, making up less than 0.5% of the league.
Contributing: Annalis Bailey; Greg Doddick, Providence Magazine
