By Anthony Lucido — Reporter
Stay safe and stay home.
A message many of us recognize as a cautionary plea to keep ourselves and one another safe against COVID-19. However, for others, it speaks a different story.
Since the beginning of 2020, the Asian community in the U.S. has witnessed over 3,800 acts of violence. According to an analysis done by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, anti-Asian hate crimes have risen by nearly 150%.
The Asian community has been getting robbed, beaten and killed.
These horrific acts didn’t just happen overnight. It is the result of years of xenophobic rhetoric and racial tensions that have amounted to what it is today.
Although these attitudes have reappeared once more, so too does the resolve of the Asian community.
One such example is Hideki Matsuyama, the first male Japanese golfer to win a major by taking home the green jacket at the 2021 Masters.
“We’re always taught to work really hard and to not leave the practice area without getting a lot of practice in,” said Natasha Andrea Oon, a San Jose State women’s golfer.
“Seeing him win and seeing the fruits of his labor really just inspires me.”
Growing up Oon traveled a lot because of her father’s work, moving from places like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. It was on her travels where she found herself immersed in the world of golf.
“I was 3 years old when my dad brought me to a driving range and he handed me a men’s club to hit,” said Oon. “I actually hit the ball and every day since then I would go to the driving range after school to practice.”
Two years later, Oon’s dad flew her to the U.S. to compete in the Junior World Championships where she finished in seventh place. Oon returned the following year to take first place and has since claimed several more victories in other tournaments.
Like Oon, others within the Asian community have found success through sports, and also, solace.
“Growing up, I always felt like I was the minority as I was the only Asian girl at my gym,” said SJSU women’s gymnast Tia Gin.
“However, being at San Jose State and where I am at now I feel more in my place and at home because of the diversity and everyone coming together from different walks of life.”
Gin said these experiences as a minority within sports is what makes her look up to athletes such as Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.
“Her gymnastics skills are insane, but more importantly, she also has a big platform through gymnastics,” said Gin.
“The leadership she has inspires a lot of young girls, and she represents being a gymnast and being African-American so well.”
It is with athletes, such as Matsuyama and Biles, who inspire us in communities of color to remain strong and, more importantly, to be ourselves — a sentiment shared by another SJSU student-athlete, James Shimashita.
“You don’t know what’s coming next,” said Shimashita.
“For example, none of us expected COVID-19 and most of our season had to be canceled and rescheduled over and over. That was just a big part of it where you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Amidst all the uncertainty, Shimashita said race shouldn’t play a significant role in whether you play sports or if you’re going about your day-to-day life.
“It’s great that with sports, a lot of different people representing different countries can just come together and compete with each other,” said Shimashita.
The sports world is just one area in life that shows just how far the Asian community, and all other communities in the world, can look past race, come together in unity, be true to ourselves and overcome the seeds of division.
“My dad, he really likes baseball and before I played any organized baseball we’d go outside and play catch with each other and hit baseballs,” said Shimashita. “We were just a father and son playing baseball and nothing else.”
Follow Anthony on Twitter @Lucido98