I fell in love with Toutiao and became the GOAT.

Chapter 79 The Big Post-Match Events

The suspense in this showdown between the two Lins at Madison Square Garden dissipated shortly after the game began.

Jeremy Lin's lackluster performance caused the New York fans in the stadium to gradually lose patience, and in the second half of the game, there were even boos directed at the home team.

In other words, New York fans have completely switched sides.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a true defection.

When Lin Bei soared into the air in the second half and delivered a solid block to Jeremy Lin, Madison Square Garden fell silent; there were no cheers of defiance.

But after Jeremy Lin went 0-for-4 at the start of the game, the questions and criticisms directed at him from the sidelines never stopped.

The most conspicuous among them was Spike Lee, the Knicks' number one die-hard fan.

This director, known for his outspokenness and penchant for creating controversy, is like a spinning top that never stops. No one knows whether he genuinely lacks emotional intelligence or is deliberately trying to grab attention through this high-profile battle.

He acted like he had ADHD, gesticulating wildly in the front row of the audience, constantly asking, "What are you doing? What are you doing?"

"Is it really true, as they say, that 'Linsanity' was all hype from beginning to end?"

Jeremy Lin ignored him completely, but Spike Lee's questioning finally broke Jeremy Lin's already unbalanced mentality.

As the final buzzer sounded, the Warriors defeated the Knicks by 25 points, and the myth of "Linsanity" was completely ended in this battle between the two Lins.

Lin Bei was once again the center of attention on the sidelines after the game.

CCTV's sideline interviews are already a routine practice, and reporter Xiao Zhang had already been waiting in the designated spot.

Meanwhile, TNT television station is also vying for the right to conduct post-match sideline interviews with Lin Bei.

After a moment's thought, Lin Bei declined TNT's invitation.

In his view, domestic fans are his foundation. As for the American fans, he doesn't have many yet. He'll have to wait until he really makes a name for himself before talking about gaining more fans.

Standing in front of CCTV's cameras, Lin Bei was completely unaware that TNT, which had never been able to capitalize on his popularity, was now resorting to a "roundabout" approach.

CCTV's broadcast footage was originally borrowed from TNT, so TNT simply switched directly to CCTV's signal and even arranged for a Chinese translator in advance to provide real-time synchronization of the Q&A between reporter Xiao Zhang and Lin Bei, attempting to capitalize on CCTV's interview to gain some viewership.

Reporter Xiao Zhang's first question hit the nail on the head: "Domestic fans don't quite understand why you and Jeremy Lin, both of Chinese descent and considered compatriots, have escalated to this point of direct confrontation?"

This question is not only a source of confusion for domestic fans, but also the question that Yu Jia and Coach Zhang in the commentary booth most want answered.

Lin Bei maintained his usual style, without deliberately avoiding the topic, and spoke only the truth: "Do you all remember the racial discrimination incident involving JJ Redick last time? As a Chinese player at the time, I was directly affected. Before I even had a chance to speak out, Jeremy Lin had already forgiven Redick on my behalf."

Reporter Xiao Zhang nodded quickly: "We've been following this matter, but Jeremy Lin later explained it on Twitter, so they've cleared things up, haven't they?"

The "speaking out" she referred to was Jeremy Lin's subsequent explanation on Twitter, without offering an apology.

Lin Bei shook his head slightly, his tone carrying a hint of disagreement, but he didn't dwell on it too much. He changed the subject: "I don't approve of his actions, but what truly made me see him for who he really is was something else that happened afterward."

During this period, Jeremy Lin's "Linsanity" has become incredibly popular, which has attracted some people with ulterior motives.

Just two days ago, an ESPN reporter, who is white, referred to Jeremy Lin as "chink" in a report.

After the incident was exposed, before public opinion could even take hold, ESPN reacted swiftly, firing the white reporter immediately.

But no one expected that Jeremy Lin's next move would completely refresh everyone's understanding—he took the initiative to contact the fired reporter and even treated him to a meal, saying that he wanted to "show love and forgiveness."

This matter had nothing to do with Lin Bei; he never got involved.

But through this incident, he finally saw Jeremy Lin's true nature—

An ABC (American-born Chinese) who completely identifies with Western culture and is assimilated by Western values ​​is, to put it bluntly, a typical yellow-skinned, white-hearted person.

In fact, in later generations, there was another event that more bluntly exposed Jeremy Lin's true nature.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, Jeremy Lin, who was playing in the CBA, posted a video on Twitter openly criticizing the CBA.

The facilities were rudimentary, and in the video, his tone was disdainful, his words harsh: "Can you believe this is a weight room? This is what life in the park looks like. Where am I? What kind of garbage is this?"

These are his original words, and once the video was released, it was used by overseas forces and Taiwanese elements to stir up a wave of smear campaigns against the mainland.

But no one knew that the so-called "rudimentary facilities" he complained about were just a quarantine hotel where he only needed to stay for three days.

As the person involved, he couldn't possibly be unaware of this, and his true intentions at the time are intriguing.

Lin Bei was too lazy to figure out Jeremy Lin's thoughts; he just found it laughable.

He was able to generously show "love and forgiveness" in the face of racial discrimination from white reporters.

But how could he forget the "love and forgiveness" he talked about when faced with the CBA's temporary quarantine arrangements?

So his tolerance is only directed at white people?

Of course, whether Jeremy Lin is yellow-skinned and white-hearted is essentially irrelevant to Lin Bei.

He then changed the subject and revealed the real reason for the battle between the two Lins: "Redick's incident was just the fuse. He has always held a grudge against me for not giving him face last time, so before this game, he publicly attacked me as a blue-collar player."

Everyone knows my temper. If you don't mess with me, I'll keep to myself; but if you attack me first, don't blame me for being impolite.

Reporter Xiao Zhang nodded emphatically. She knew Lin Bei's personality all too well: he didn't cause trouble, but he was absolutely not afraid of trouble.

But Lin Bei felt that his words contained some personal speculation and were not convincing enough, so he brought up again the matter of Jeremy Lin inviting a white reporter to dinner a few days ago.

As he spoke, he thought of another incident from later years: during the same pandemic, Jeremy Lin was verbally abused by his opponent as a "virus" while participating in an NBDL match, which was yet another blatant act of racial discrimination.

But he still did the same old thing—choosing "love and forgiveness".

Not only did he refuse to name the perpetrators of the discrimination, but he also posted a statement saying, "Shaming individuals cannot solve systemic racism; listening, compassion, and solidarity are the keys to change."

He can talk about listening, empathy, and solidarity with white opponents who insult him, but why can't he do the same with the CBA?

It's worth noting that Jeremy Lin has criticized the CBA far more than once. He has also complained that the CBA deliberately targeted him, that the games were too intense, and even claimed that some players threatened to "cripple him."

Of course, Lin Bei only took the latter part as a joke.

Because Jeremy Lin used the same rhetoric to complain about high school leagues, the NCAA, the NBA, and the Taiwan leagues—he complained about everything he could.

Taking all this into account, Lin Bei looked at the camera and finally spoke his mind: "I think Chinese fans shouldn't take Jeremy Lin too seriously. He has yellow skin, but if you take his heart out, you'll find it's white."

This statement is too bold and too blunt.

Not only were the TNT staff who were secretly broadcasting the news stunned, but the domestic fan community also instantly went wild.

Hupu Hotline —

"Dalin is really outspoken! He did this right in front of CCTV!"

"But he's right. Every time a racial incident breaks out, Jeremy Lin is the first to kneel down."

"Last time Redick was racist, he forgave Dalin; this time ESPN fired the person involved, but he still went up to him, invited him to dinner, and even knelt down after him."

"Indeed, he is an ABC (American-born Chinese) who grew up in the United States and has no sense of belonging to Chinese culture. He is not worthy of our support."

"We only need Dalin! We'll support Dalin from now on!"

'

Most domestic fans sided with Lin Bei, but on the other hand, TNT, which was secretly broadcasting the show, ran into a major problem.

Faced with Lin Bei's sharp conclusion, the Chinese translator responsible for real-time translation hesitated before using the highly controversial word "banana."

In Western contexts, bananas are often used to describe Chinese people who are "yellow-skinned and white-fleshed," a term that carries a clear racial connotation.

The moment that word was uttered, TNT's broadcast room exploded.

Commentator Mike Brin frowned, his face grave.

Smith screamed in disbelief, unable to believe his ears.

Another commentator, Mav Albert, went even further, slamming his fist on the table and exclaiming, "The league should severely punish Best Lin! This is blatant racism!"

After finishing his CCTV interview, Lin Bei returned to the locker room and rested for less than half an hour when a system notification sounded in his mind—[Valid headline +1].

-

He was stunned: "What happened?"

He quickly rummaged through the locker for his phone, opened the sports news, and instantly understood everything.

Yahoo Sports: "Best Lin publicly discriminated against Jeremy Lin in a post-match interview, using the insulting word 'Banana' ————"

ESPN added fuel to the fire, with a headline directly targeting Best Lin: "A habitual racist? Following his 'white trash' remarks, Best Lin makes another discriminatory statement."

BR followed suit, posting a comment questioning: "No wonder Best Lin is targeting Jeremy Lin; it turns out he secretly despises this fellow Chinese American!"

Lin Bei stared at his phone screen, his face full of question marks, and couldn't help but swear: "Damn it, who's stirring up trouble here?"

He certainly knew that "Banana" was indeed a racist term in English, that much was true.

The problem is, he never said that word from beginning to end.

Lin Bei quickly opened Twitter, scrolled through it, and found the original video.

"So TNT had been spying all along. No wonder it got added to the top of the headlines so quickly."

Lin Bei has always been able to consistently get only five effective headlines: ESPN, Yahoo Sports, BR, CBS, and Fox Sports.

TA, also an online media outlet, focuses on the football field, while the NBA's official website generally doesn't follow such hot topics.

There are also the weekly magazines Sports Illustrated and Slam Dunk. Lin Bei needs to wait for their latest issues to be printed and released. While waiting, it is easy to miss the hot topics.

He managed to generate a valid headline within half an hour of the competition ending, which was clearly thanks to TNT.

But what Lin Bei didn't know was that TA also reported on this matter in the top headlines, and the number of headlines he received this time was overflowing.

Lin Bei heard in the original video that the translator simplified his last sentence into a single word: "Banana".

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He was so angry he laughed.

Immediately, Lin Bei tagged TNT on Twitter: "Do you know your translation is wrong? Forget it, there's no point in saying more, prepare for the lawsuit!"

Lin Bei knew very well that this matter was no longer a simple public opinion controversy. The mistranslation of TNT not only distorted his meaning but also labeled him as "racist".

If left unchecked, it will not only damage his personal reputation but also harm his commercial value, and even affect his chances in the NBA.

The development of A.

This lawsuit must be fought.

After a moment's thought, he dialed Dan Fagan's number.

Although he had already made it clear that he would not renew his contract with Dan Fagan.

But recently, he signed several endorsement deals, and Dan Fegan has been making a killing off his share.

Dan Fagan also has a stake in the TNT phenomenon, knowing that he can make a lot of money off Lin Bei.

The moment the call connected, Lin Bei got straight to the point: "Dan, find me a lawyer, I want to sue TNT!"

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