Naturalized China was ridiculed, Li Kyle opened the Internet black fan: some things are far more important than basketball
(Observer Network News) On the 24th, the Chinese Basketball Association announced that Li Kyle obtained Chinese nationality and will represent the Chinese men's basketball team in the World Cup. However, some foreign netizens sneered at Li Kaier's joining the Chinese men's basketball team, and even made personal attacks, discriminatory and insulting remarks on his overseas social media accounts.
Li Kaier did not swallow his anger and chose to fight back strongly. On the 25th, he posted a real-time dynamic ins story on the overseas social media platform Instagram, forwarding the FIBA released the graphic news that he will represent the Chinese men's basketball team in the World Cup, in the photo, Li Kaier is wearing a Chinese team jersey, and a Chinese flag is flying in the background.
On the picture, Li Kyle said in English: "Some of the comments are crazy, you just need to know that I will give 100% and give it my all." It means a reunion for my family in 100 years, and it's more important than basketball. ”
On Weibo, when Li Kaier forwarded his interview about choosing to naturalize in China, he also posted the same content in both Chinese and English.
In an interview with @MiguBasketball, Li Kyle revealed more specific details of this naturalization. Li Kaier said that his maternal great-grandfather was a Chinese, he has 1/8 Chinese ancestry, and joining the Chinese team means a lot to him.
"It's not just about playing the World Cup for a national team in one summer, I have ancestors from China, and I'm coming back to play for China in a hundred years, I think it's a reincarnation."
Li Kaier said that although he has never met his great-grandfather, his ancestors will definitely smile at their choice, hoping that their performance will make them proud.
He also revealed that in fact, he himself has always had the idea of returning to China to join the Chinese men's basketball team, and it was not until this year that there was room for this matter to be possible, and when he first received the naturalization inquiry in early January this year, he made the decision to join the Chinese team in just one week.
Asked why he made a decision so quickly, Li Kyle asked rhetorically, "Does it take a long time?" I don't think it will take long to make this decision. ”
Screenshot from @MiguBasketball
And this time to successfully join the Chinese men's basketball team, Li Kaier's mother Suzanne is a key figure that has to be mentioned.
Li Kaier admits that it was his mother's persistence in finding relatives in China for many years and finally succeeded, which pushed him to finally make the decision to join the Chinese team, "After going to Shenzhen in 2018 to find roots, I increased my confidence tenfold and decided to join the Chinese team." ”
As Chinese descendants, Li Kaier's family has always retained a strong sense of clan and blood kinship. His grandmother, who is half Chinese, once told her wish to return to China to find her Chinese father's relatives.
Since 2014, Li Kyle's mother, Suzanne, has focused on finding Chinese relatives, so she quit her job in Canada to focus on family history. She also participated in events organized by local Hakka groups in Canada and sought help from professional organizations.
After several twists and turns, Suzanne finally found their roots in China, Xinmu New Village, Longgang District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, which led to the Li Kaier family coming to China in the summer of 2018 to look for relatives and ancestors.
Li Kaier and the people of the Li clan wrapped rice balls, fried large pots of rice, ate home-cooked meals with chopsticks, drank liquor, and even knew that juniors had to lower their wine glasses when clinking glasses. Also this time, he was given the Chinese name "Li Kaier" by the elders of the clan, recognized his ancestors and returned to the sect with his mother, and was officially included in the family tree.
The name of his Weibo account was quietly changed from the original "Sledgehammer Kyle Anderson Anderson" to "Sledgehammer Kyle Anderson".
For Li Kyle, it is difficult to describe the moving level of finding a loved one on the other side of the world across generations: "My mother spent a long time searching for our roots and making us understand where we came from, and it was a big thing, it was like finding a way in the dark." ”
After seeing his great-grandfather's photo, he was sure that this was the origin of his family, "Blood is really a magical power, if you put my great-grandfather's picture next to me, you will find that we are really similar, our family is very similar." ”
Li Kaier returned to Shenzhen with his mother (right) to find relatives from @sledgehammerLi Kaier Anderson Weibo
Earlier, it was reported that the US men's basketball team also extended an olive branch to Li Kyle and invited him to play for the United States team in this World Cup. From a career perspective, if he joins the U.S. men's basketball team, he may well have the best chance of winning the World Cup this year.
Li Kyle confirmed the rumor and said that he eventually refused the US invitation, "I did have the opportunity to join the US men's basketball team, but I talked to my family, and I decided to play for the Chinese men's basketball team." I think I must seize this opportunity to play for the Chinese team. ”
In the comments section, he responded: "[Playing for the Chinese team is a simple and correct decision], and I feel extremely honored and proud to be able to represent my family and fight for the country." ”
On July 24, the Li Kyle, who was given by fans to the nickname "sledgehammer", finally "sledgehammer fell" in the process of joining the Chinese men's basketball team.
FIBA Basketball World Cup officials released news on social media, officially confirming that Li Kyle will represent the Chinese men's basketball team in the men's basketball World Cup. The 19th FIBA Men's Basketball World Cup will be held from August 25 to September 10, 2023, and will be jointly hosted by Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.
According to Beijing Youth Daily, Li Kaier is currently waiting for a Chinese passport. Once he gets his passport, he will immediately travel to Slovenia to join the Chinese men's basketball team in preparation for the World Cup.
In addition, it was earlier reported that Li Kyle's national team debut is scheduled for the "International Solidarity Cup" to be held in Shenzhen on August 20, when he will officially put on the Chinese men's basketball shirt and play Serbia.
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