JJ Redick insists that he did not intentionally use a racial slur toward Chinese people when he took part in a recent video celebrating the Chinese New Year, and the first American-born Chinese player to ever play in the NBA believes him.
Shortly after Redick issued an apology on Sunday, Jeremy Lin defended the 76ers guard on Twitter.
wanted to address this… pic.twitter.com/3oB2mUvQpc
— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) February 19, 2018
The video in question featured several NBA players wishing Chinese fans a Happy New Year. A YouTube user called attention to the fact that it sounded like Redick used a racial slur during his portion of the video.
A Chinese YouTuber is upset at J.J. Redick after he used a racial slur while wishing Chinese fans a happy new year. pic.twitter.com/1goQjj1WBi
— MeanMug Sports (@MeanMugSports) February 18, 2018
Redick said at first that he was “tongue tied,” and he elaborated further in a lengthy Twitter post on Sunday evening. In it, Redick explained exactly what he was trying to say and why it came out the way that it did.
Mere common sense would tell you Redick is telling the truth. There’s virtually no chance he would ever use a word like that in a video that is designed to celebrate a certain group of fans. The slip of the tongue was certainly unfortunate, but there’s no reason to think Redick is lying about it. Kudos to Lin for using his influence as a Chinese-American player to help clear up the confusion.
