Jeremy Lin Hospitalized After Multiple Injuries Sustained During CBA Semi-Final

After sustaining multiple injuries that got him hospitalized, NBA star Jeremy Lin is speaking out to demand more safety protection for players in the Chinese Basketball Association.

The 31-year-old Beijing Ducks point guard reportedly injured his ankles, knees, neck and ears during a game against the Guangdong Southern Tigers. The Ducks lost to the Tigers in the semi-final match 88-85.

In a post on Weibo, Lin lamented how painful the loss was as it officially ended his first season in China, Straits Times reported.

“Frankly speaking, such a defeat is heart-breaking, it really hurts,” Lin wrote.

Lin would later talk about his injuries during an interview on Chinese state television, noting how violent basketball is played in China.

“My condition isn’t very good because, as we all know, the competition is fierce for both teams,” Lin was quoted as saying.

“We basically play the game and hit people at the same time,” he shared. “I can understand if you hit and hurt your opponent by mistake, but (it is unacceptable) if you do it on purpose or the referee doesn’t protect the players.”

Lin then highlighted that his message is for everyone to be safe during a basketball game.

“That’s all I can say. I’ll leave the rest for you guys to discuss,” he said.

According to Beijing’s stand-in coach Xie Libin, Lin’s age and injuries caught up to him.

“He went down so many times in each game,” Xie said.“But you must appreciate that he is in his 30s and played in the NBA for many years.”

The coach added that after the game, Lin’s condition got so bad that “he couldn’t hear anything.”

Based on league statistics, Lin is one of the most fouled players in the CBA in recent years.

On Instagram, Lin further shared his frustration over the loss.

“Not gonna lie, this one hurts. Lost a nail-biter in the semi-finals. I wanted to go all the way with this team so badly,” Lin wrote. “For God, for the fans, for Beijing, for everyone that’s put so much effort into helping us and supporting us this season. Even though I knew what we were up against, I believed we could go all the way, even up until the last shot.”

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Not gonna lie, this one hurts. Lost a nail-biter in the semi-finals. I wanted to go all the way with this team so badly. For God, for the fans, for Beijing, for everyone that’s put so much effort into helping us and supporting us this season. Even though I knew what we were up against, I believed we could go all the way, even up until the last shot. I know we gave it our all. When the season stopped from Coronavirus, we didn’t waste a single day. Every day without knowing when or if the season would start again was spent all out training, preparing, staying in shape. During that time I also did a lot of mental work in processing my past career setbacks. As athletes we often don’t get a chance to mentally process everything we go through. I realized how much baggage I carried from my patellar tendon injury, losing 130 games over 2 seasons, past team situations that didn’t work out, from feeling disempowered and disappointed over and over again. I didn’t trust God to pull through anymore and had gotten used to playing basketball looking over my shoulder, waiting for the next disappointment. I had lost sight of myself and the bold, fearless player I once was. I can honestly say I broke free from that this season. I put the work in to let go of my past, strengthen myself mentally and redevelop my confidence. I am a different player now – carrying the lessons of my past but no longer afraid to dream big and play 100% fearlessly again. When you dream big dreams, you risk big heartbreak. I don’t believe in moral victories. We didn’t get it done this time. But it was worth it. Every hooper knows, you miss 100% of the shots you dont take. You also miss 100% of the dreams you dont chase. The process, what this team taught me along the way and how we grew – I wouldn’t take that back for anything. Thank you to the Beijing Ducks for giving me this opportunity. Thank you to my teammates for giving it their all, for embracing me and being open to doing things a different way. Thank you to coach @jwafan for coming with me on this journey in so many different ways. THANK YOU to the fans who follow and support me, no matter where I’m playing. All LOVE ♥️ #faithoverfear

A post shared by Jeremy Lin 林書豪 (@jlin7) on Aug 9, 2020 at 8:14am PDT