AAPI Athletes & Community: Rising Together

Dear Friends,

Happy Year of the Fire Horse!

What a thrilling month this has been for AAPI representation in sports! From Super Bowl LX to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games, we’ve seen athletes from our communities shine. There were several AAPI players in the Super Bowl this year, including Seattle Seahawks running back George Holani who honored his heritage by arriving at the stadium in traditional Tongan attire. And during these Winter Olympics, AAPI members of Team USA brought home multiple medals, including Alysa Liu with her stunning gold medal-winning performance in Women’s Individual Figure Skating, as well as ice dancer Madison Chock and snowboarder Chloe Kim who both won silver.

AAPI representation in sports is powerful because these athletes challenge stereotypes of what American sports stars should look like, and expand perceptions of AAPI success. We celebrate with them as they show us all what’s possible.

This February we celebrated Black History Month as well, recognizing how AAPI history has long been intertwined with the histories and struggles of Black communities. We also honor and celebrate those with Black and Asian heritage, and you’ll see some highlights from these communities in our TAAF news and blog stories this month.

In Solidarity,

Norman Chen

CEO, The Asian American Foundation

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TAAF NEWS

TAAF x NFL Champions of The Game Reception

On the eve of Super Bowl LX, TAAF and the NFL hosted the inaugural “TAAF x NFL Champions of the Game” reception at The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, bringing together athletes, executives, and fans to honor AAPI trailblazers who are changing the game—both on and off the field. To bring their stories to the forefront, the event featured speakers Mike Yam, Studio Host, NFL Network; Jonathan Beane, SVP, League Leadership & Inclusion, NFL; Erin Fong, Super Bowl LX Artist; Kathryn Kai-ling Frederick, Chief Marketing Officer, Los Angeles Rams; Paraag Marathe, President of 49ers Enterprises and EVP Football of Operations, 49ers; Jesse Sapolu, 4x Super Bowl Champion and All Pro Center, 49ers; Daniel Lurie, 46th Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco; Humbert Lee, Co-Founder and Head of Operations, Nostalgia; Jaden Yo-eco, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Nostalgia; and Cao Yue, Founder, Yue Studio. The event also featured a special appearance by Puka Nacua, Wide Receiver, Los Angeles Rams.

For athletes like Jesse Sapolu, who is Samoan, there was intense pressure in knowing that he was representing an entire community. But the perseverance and excellence of these pioneers paved the way for a growing number of AAPI athletes and leaders. Today, their hard work and sacrifice is inspiring the next wave of representation in sports. In the words of Sapolu, “When a door shuts, you'll kick it down and go right through it because there's kids that depend on you to do that.”

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Bloom x TAAF x Clippers Lunar New Year Celebration

TAAF was proud to sponsor Ryan Alexander Holmes’ Lunar New Year celebration at the Intuit Dome, in partnership with the Los Angeles Clippers, Uprisers, and AMAZN HQ. The evening was a vibrant fusion of shared culture, meaningful conversation, and basketball — marking the official introduction of Bloom, Ryan’s cross-cultural organization dedicated to moving beyond tragedy-based solidarity and toward shared joy, cultural pride, and community.

In celebration of both Lunar New Year and Black History Month, Ryan moderated The Crossover, a dynamic panel featuring prominent Black and Asian Americans in sports and entertainment: Kianna Smith, WNBA, Jordan Brand; Russell Curry, The Red Power Ranger; Christian Juzang, Harvard Basketball, Team Vietnam; and Pierre Crockrell II, NBA G-League. The conversation explored how their mixed Asian identities have shaped the way they navigate their professional careers, aligning with TAAF’s Asian+American campaign and reinforcing that American culture is not one single color, but a vibrant tapestry of hues, shades, and histories.

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IMPACT UPDATE

TALA Session Empowers College Students Through Financial Literacy

TALA (TAAF Thriving AANHPI Leadership Accelerator) Fellows in both San Francisco and New York had the opportunity to attend a session with the theme of Your Prosperity, Your Way. In each city, the session was designed to be an opportunity for Fellows to unpack the values, mindsets, and philosophies they have around financial wellness and literacy. In the San Francisco session, students had the opportunity to hear from personal finance YouTuber Humphrey Yang (@Humphrey/@humphreytalks), and in NYC, the session featured personal finance NYT Best-selling author and content creator Vivian Tu (@YourRichBFF).

We asked TALA participants about their experiences in the program, and the impact of sessions like this one. Many pointed to the importance of forging one’s own path (sometimes in opposition to cultural expectations), learning about varied and non-linear career trajectories, and building community with others who are on the same journey. Here are a few reflections from the TALA Fellows we spoke to:

"It's finding who you are through all of the people around you that are trying to tell you who you should be. I think that's the one thing that I can really speak to as an Asian American."

"The TALA program is something so meaningful to my Asian identity. I think the environment that TALA has created is something that unites us, and I think that is so meaningful to create a space that really brings us all together. And I'm glad that I was given the opportunity to be here and meet people who are just like me."

"My heart is very full because I can be vulnerable about what I'm going through, and I don't have to hide myself…now I have a community of supportive peers that are growing with me."

We’re so proud of all the students and their accomplishments so far, and we’ll continue to provide updates on our inaugural TALA cohort as the year progresses.

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ON THE BLOG

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In case you missed it, these are the stories we featured this month on our blog, The Takeaway.

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Make an Impact

Did you know that AAPI communities receive only 0.3% of philanthropic giving from foundations and less than 1% of corporate giving?

When you make a gift to TAAF, 100% of your donation goes toward strengthening groundbreaking programs, essential research, and cross-sector partnerships to address our community's most persistent challenges. Donate today to increase Safety, Prosperity and Belonging for the AAPI community. You can also leverage your corporate matching program to double your impact.

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