As the world continues to battle COVID-19, it also battles a wave of racism directed towards Asians across the globe. Angela Lee and other ONE Championship athletes speak out about COVID-related racism.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has noted the global scale in the uptick of COVID-related racism. It has swept across borders and is a worldwide issue that needs to be addressed.
In a tweet earlier in May, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres remarked, “Yet the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering. That’s why I’m appealing for an all-out effort to end hate speech globally.”
The athletes of ONE Championship, Asia’s largest sports media property, have joined in the call to stop the bigotry.
Siblings Angela Lee and brother Christian Speak Out
ONE Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee said, “There has been a huge increase in the number of violent, racist acts towards Asians. We need to do something.”
Lee, along with brother Christian, lives and trains in Hawaii. The pair of World Champions share both Singaporean and Korean heritage.
“Now more than ever is the time to come together,” said the 23-year-old Lee.
Other Champions Make Statements
“Don’t make jokes linking Asians to Covid-19,” stated Vietnamese-Australian ONE Featherweight World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen. “This virus does not discriminate, and neither should we.”
Also appearing in the video was ONE Heavyweight World Champion, Filipino-American, Brandon “The Truth” Vera, who called on fans to stand up together.
The champions of ONE made it clear that the racist rhetoric surrounding COVID-19 needs to stop. The ignorance that breeds hate should end, and society needs to come together to combat the hatred when it arises.
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