NBA star Jeremy Lin, who now plays for the Charlotte Hornets, has inspired over 2,000 students to put a stop to bullying in schools by taking a stand against it.
Lin has started a reading challenge in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District through his non-profit organisation called The Jeremy Lin Foundation, according to The Christian Post.
In the reading challenge, he encourages students not just to read books, but to take quizzes and read articles that he and other celebrities have written about bullying. His anti-bullying strategy is called "Act to Change."
The more students read, the more they earn points for their schools. The winning school in the end would receive a visit from Lin.
"The Jeremy Lin Foundation Reading Challenge ... encourages students to read from a collection of JLin Foundation aligned articles around 'Bringing an End to Bullying, featuring an article at five different levels from Jeremy Lin," a description of the challenge reads on the Newsela website.
"People who ask me about bullying are often surprised when I tell them that I have been singled out for my race on the basketball court," Lin writes in an article entitled, "Opinion: Ignore the bullies and dare to be different."
"For me, growing up Asian-American and trying to play basketball was a bit tough at times," shares Lin. "Sometimes people would make fun of me and just say, 'Oh, you're Yao Ming.' That's not that bad, but sometimes it would get worse and people would say, 'You're a Chinese import' or 'go back to China' or 'can you see the scoreboard with your eyes?' And then sometimes it got really ridiculous."
One time, Lin lashed out on his bullies but he was reprimanded by his coach. "My coach told me after the game, 'Jeremy, when people say that to you they're trying to get in your head,'" Lin said. "Honestly, the best thing to do is take that negative energy and turn it into positive energy. Fuel yourself, motivate yourself with that. Don't react in anger."
So now Lin is sharing what he has learned several years back to other students. "If there is anything I can pass on to you guys, is a lot of times bullies bully other people because of insecurities they have in themselves. Don't let anyone else tell you who you are or what you can or can't do," he says. "Definitely look inside yourself, have confidence in yourself, believe in yourself and understand what makes you such a unique and special person. Everybody has different and really cool characteristics and talents."
