>> China virus, or I like the plague from China. >> One of almost 4,000 anti Asian hate incidents
reported in the US over the past year. >> Kung flu, yeah.
>> Some people call it the Chinese flu, the China flu, right? They call it the China.
>> Seven people have been shot and killed in Georgia tonight in the Atlanta metro area.
>> It comes from China. It comes from China.
>> My question is- >> Kung flu.
>> Do you think that 's wrong- >> Young man came back at least three times to
throw things into our foyer and leave not only a racist note but a racist mask that he wrote on.
>> I would like to begin by announcing some important developments in aour war against the
Chinese virus. >> Why do you
keep calling this the Chinese virus? >> Since the start of the pandemic, attacks
against Asian Americans have been on the rise. >> Yeah, no, I don't take responsibility at all.
Chinese virus. >> That's exactly
when the same week, President Trump began to use the term consistently on Chinese virus.
We knew that rhetoric was exacerbating. People ask, is there a surge? Well, in 2019, nobody was
spitting and coughing on other people. >> The rise in anti-Asian violence it
appears is not waning, it is festering.
Perhaps in the past, prominent figures were not willing to speak out.
Some view it now as a must. Look no further than Yani Tseng, a two time women's PGA
champ, and per the New York Times, the first player from Taiwan to reach the world number
one ranking. I'm scared every time I see the news that it could happen to me, she said.
She told the story of a friend who lives in Irvine,
who had a terrifying experience while in her car in a grocery store parking lot.
Thugs approached her and attempted to open its locked doors, pounding on it with so much force,
the vehicle moved. After hearing that, Tseng said, I was really worried about about myself.
Na Yeon Choi is a nine time LPGA winner and hails from South Korea. She told the Times
she did not want her mother, who usually travels with her on the tour, to do so this year. Quote,
I was thinking it's not safe for her to be alone when I'm focusing on practice, Choi said.
She can't speak English, so she'd be stuck in the hotel because I wouldn't want her going out. LPGA
Commissioner, Mike Whan, who announced he will be stepping down after completing his 11th year on
the tour, said there had been isolated incidents involving Asian players away from tournament
venues over the years, including some in which the tour's security detail had to get involved.
Mina Harigae, a decorated amateur from Monterey, California whose parents are Japanese, told the
Times, I'll be honest. I got so scared I went online and bought a self defense stick. Harigae,
like Choi and Tseng, is on the LPGA Tour. Many fans of the sport know who Michelle Wie West is.
Now with the rise in anti Asian violence, in her own words,
she views herself in a different light. She said she ran an errand at a strip mall near the course,
one of the thousands of such pit stops she has made for one forgotten item
or another during her nearly two decades of competing in the LPGA.
This time, though, was different. It was the first time I was truly afraid, she said, adding, we're
a target now, unfortunately. She also reflects on the many micro aggressions from years past. I look
back at a lot of the questions that reporters ask me. Why are the South Koreans so good?
That question always bothered me, but I answered it. I'd say,
because they practice really hard, and by saying that I was playing into the microaggression.
I never really put two and two together as to why that question, and certain other comments,
bothered me until this year. Lydia Ko, a former number one on tour and 16 time winner,
told the outlet she worried about her mother traveling to the United States.
Jane Park, one of the most humorous players on tour, lives just a few miles from one of the three
massage parlors that was targeted back in March. She called it jarring. Christina Ken expressed
her frustrations to the Times as well. She said she's tired of hearing that Asians talk funny
and really tired of the added pressure that Asian born players on the tour feel
to speak the Queen's English to avoid being mocked or criticized.
She's tired of people on social media directing comments to her about the kung flu. By speaking
out, they are showing there is more to an athlete than playing the sport they thrive in.
While the country continues its troubling trend, the players are trying their best to change it.
It is commendable to say the least. Most importantly,
the athletes refuse to shut up and dribble. They're speaking out to draw attention to the
atrocities they face in a country that proclaims to be the land of the free.