Santa Cruz Warriors guard Jeremy Lin comments on racial slur directed at him

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KGO) -- Former NBA star Jeremy Lin explained why he's not naming the person who called him 'coronavirus' as a slur during a recent basketball game.

Lin said he was also called racial slurs while playing college basketball at Harvard University.

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On Tuesday, Lin told CNN's Don Lemon, "When I was in college. and I was playing an Ivy League game and I was called "chink" multiple times. I've never revealed who that player or players were," Lin added, "To me, it's not about trying to you know, take somebody down or anything like that. It's about building awareness and it's about promoting solidarity."

In a February 25 Facebook post, Lin wrote about the racism he believes the Asian American community continues to deal with and offered examples that he said he has experienced.

Lin didn't specify when he was called that, and it was unclear if the incident occurred in the G League bubble in Orlando, Florida, where Lin currently is playing for the Warriors G League affiliate in Santa Cruz.

Lin, who grew up in Palo Alto, became the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent when he broke in with the Warriors during the 2010-11 season.