|
|
|
|
|
GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Yao Ming: The Next Asian Superstar?
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:38:56 AM)
he sweetest moment for Asian men in American sports came on June 26, 2002 at Madison Square Garden. The Houston Rockets had just spent their number one overall draft pick on 7-5 Chinese center Yao Ming over 6-2 Duke guard Jay Williams. The largely black crowd of draft prospects and their contingents booed. They had reason to be displeased. For the past quarter century black athletes had dominated pro basketball and they saw Yao as a subversive force, an alien threat. Even Charles Barkley -- Yao's basketball idol -- sniped at Houston's choice and hinted at bad consequences.
David or Goliath?
|
What's wrong with this picture?
In the global sports scene blacks have come to represent all-around athletic prowess. Asian athletes, on the other hand, have been painted as disciplined and skilled but lacking power and size, able to excel only in sports no one cares about. For an Asian to get the top pick in a black-dominated sport was heresy.
To appreciate what Yao represents to Asian American men requires a quick trip down memory lane. And we do mean quick. The lane is short and sparsely populated.
In the beginning there was Sammy Lee, the first Asian American to win Olympic gold. He did it with 10-meter platform diving at the 1948 London games and again in 1952 at the Helsinki games. Not exactly a marquee sport, but inspiring nevertheless at a time when Asian Americans hardly knew what to call themselves.
Then came Michael Chang whose 1989 French Open championship has passed into tennis legend. Cramping and down two sets to Ivan Lendl in the round of 16, the 17-year-old phenom dared to discombobulate the Ice Man with moonballs and an underhanded serve. The ploy worked. The proof that Chang's nerves and speed were real came in the classic 5-set finals victory against Stefan Edberg. But Chang's recent ignomious descent into tennis twilight raises the suspicion that he simply lacks the size and power to stay in the power game.
It wasn't until Hideo Nomo joined the Dodgers in 1995 that an Asian athlete was able to inspire sustained frenzy in one of the big-three sports. Nomo's martian windup and delivery proved so effective that he set Dodgers strikeout records, made the All-Stars and inspired Nomomania.
By 2001 when Ichiro Suzuki joined the Mariners, Asian imports taking Rookie of the Year honors had practically become a Major League tradition. But none had done it with Ichiro's flair or sunglasses. It wasn't enough that he led the game in hitting and basestealing, he seemed determined to make it look easy. Sex appeal had finally come to the image of the Asian male athlete.
But the image still lacked something in many AA minds. Sure, for a leadoff hitter Ichiro hit his share of home runs, but he was known for speed and finesse, not power. Having chafed so long under stereotypes denying them size and strength, AA men longed for a star who could knock those assumptions back into the last millennium.
Eyes turned longingly to football as the obvious arena for the ultimate stereotype smasher -- and saw only Dat Nguyen of the Dallas Cowboys. As a promising linebacker, Nguyen doesn't enjoy the cache of a star offensive back. And at 5-11 and 240 pounds, Nguyen isn't exactly in the 99th percentile in terms of size and power among football players.
Asian American eyes were drawn to basketball by a trio of giants known collectively as "The Great Wall". They were very big for the Chinese national team. First to make his NBA debut was Wang Zhizhi (7-1, 220 pounds) in April 2001. As a center for the Dallas Mavericks he has averaged 5.5 points per 10.6 minutes of playing time per game. A respectable stat for any rookie but disappointing for those who had hoped for an instant Asian star. Then came Mengke Bateer (6-11, 290 pounds) in February of 2002. Despite 15.1 minutes of play per game as a center for the Denver Nuggets, he too disappointed some with an average 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Enter the Dragon. At a height variously described as 7-5 or 7-6, Yao Ming, 22, is at once the tallest and youngest of the trio. In the past two years his weight shot up from 255 to 295 pound -- and he's still growing. His gifts extend beyond size, however. He moves a foot shorter. Born to a pair of former stars for the Chinese national teams, his court instincts and skills are practically dyed-in-the-wool.
And yet Yao isn't a lock to defy the darker prognostications of his prospects as a Rocket. He was regularly outplayed by Wang Zhizhi when both were playing in China. Even with Yao, Wang and Mengke, the Chinese national team routinely lost to second-tier powers like France and Lithuania. Yao has never gone up against the likes of Shaquille O'Neal. The adjustment to life in the U.S. will be long and difficult. In short, Yao Ming is ideally positioned to become the biggest disappointment in the history of Asians in American sports.
Is Yao Ming the next Asian superstar? Or is he more likely to reinforce the image of Asian men as also-rans in power sports?
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
CONTACT US
|
ADVERTISING INFO
© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.
|
|
|
|
WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
Trust me, when I heard Yao Ming was the #1 draft-pick, it was exciting. But who cares what Shaq said, that's how some people are. Have pride, be proud that Asians are showing talents in sports or in entertainment. It's true this is the white-man's world, come on, WE'LL (Asians) look after our own kind also.
Let's just hope Yao Ming can really deliver and show these people what WE can do in many ways.
TTBCUWW
Monday, September 16, 2002 at 20:25:46 (PDT)
[66.214.177.69]
Shaq,
Things are so PC that it's become a non-PC world if you're in a minority that bitches at everything.
Not all are like that, but which groups yells racism at the first hint of something they don't like?
huu76
Monday, September 16, 2002 at 16:58:06 (PDT)
[207.164.88.163]
Its time to boycott the NBA and shaq...go here my chinese brothers
http://www.nba.com/email_us/letters_to_nba.html
tell them how you feel about shaq making fun of our precious 5,000 year history language
phil the thrill
Monday, September 16, 2002 at 14:38:17 (PDT)
[169.226.236.30]
In response to “You People Need to Stop Being So Sensitive”...
“So shaq made some politically incorrect comment or joke about ming. But what did you really expect from a guy who only scored 570 on his first attempt on SATs? He didn't know better. If Jesse Jackson or Colin Powell made similar remarks, then it would be totally different.”
Totally different how? A racist comment is a racist comment, regardless whose mouth it comes from. It’d be just as bad if anyone said it, be it a 5-star general or a homeless man on the street. The only difference between someone on the street who just blabs out that nonsense in his drunken stupor and Shaq, is that Shaq is in the public eye and is a very high profile figure, admired and worshipped by thousands of fans. To some, he’s a hero and a role model, even with a low SAT score. And when he pops up with ignorant “jokes” that just go by unnoticed, it breeds the same kind of ignorance and racism amongst his fans. I can already imagine some of his fans right here in L.A. going “Aw man did you hear what Shaq said? Hahaha he said chowyowchangpingdongponglao ...hahahahah!!! Man that’s funny!!!”
But what about an L.A.-born Chinese Shaq fan wearing his jersey, watching that interview and hearing Shaq say that? Would he be “too sensitive” if he took off that jersey and turned off the tv in disgust? Or should his reaction be “Aw it’s cool, Shaq has a Chinese physician, he’s cool with Chinese. He’s just joking. That’s okay.”
“Why be so surprisingly offended like you couldn't believe you heard it?? i don't think shaq meant to be malicious nor mean spirited in anyway. It was just his attmept at comedy that obviously offended a very sensitive group.”
How am I supposed to be “surprisingly offended”? Am I supposed to accept stuff like that from anyone who has low SAT scores but gets worshipped and idolized on magazine covers, instant replays and clothing lines? “Aw, that’s ok, Shaq’s ignorant anyway. Look at his SAT scores!” Shaq better not quit his day job ‘cause his comedy is wack.
I’d love to see how much Yao Ming would get if he said, on national television, “Well you can tell Shaq to go eat his watermelons, shine dem shoes and pick that cotton, boy!” Tell me the black crowd wouldn’t do something. Tell me. If the black folks did anything about that, are they being “too sensitive?” C’mon! He was only attempting to do comedy, right? Laugh!
I think it’s funny that whenever Asians raise any kind of protest to racial discrimination, they’re deemed “too sensitive.” What’s a “very sensitive group?” Were the people who reacted violently to the Rodney King beating a “very sensitive group?” Or is that something totally different? Get used to sensitivity, it’s part of being human. People are going to react differently to different things, either by looting and burning buildings, throwing a brick in someone’s face, or contributing to silly debates on the web.
“If you heard impressions about the high-accented indian or muslim guy, a bunch of you would be laughing your asses off.”
You can’t speak for anyone. Some might find that funny, others might find it offensive. Same thing with Shaq’s comment. I’m sure all kinds of ignorant people out there laughed their asses off, while “overly sensitive Asian” people like myself were offended.
Let me ask you something. Have you ever been laughed at, discriminated against, physically confronted or mocked because of your race or the color of your skin? If you have, then maybe you would understand what “being sensitive” is all about. Especially if your people have been historically discriminated against in the very same land you call home. If you haven’t experienced what someone else has, you can’t tell them how to be nor how to feel.
“Some of you asians need to know how to distinguish what is real hatred and what is just harmless humor. i saw that interview, and i didn't think it was way overboard where i have to hate him.”
What’s with this “Some of you Asians” thing? So Asians are the only ones who have a hard time distinguishing hate from humor? You’re starting to sound like Shaq. Now am I supposed to ask how high your SAT scores were? If Shaq was looking to do tasteless comedy, then he should’ve signed up for open mic night at a comedy club. He shouldn’t have done it on national tv during a serious interview. Once again, turn it around and imagine what would happen if Yao Ming pulled that “watermelon cotton-picking” stunt. Sure, it’s offensive as all hell. Then try telling the black folks how to distinguish what is real hatred and what is harmless humor.
“I jokingly speak red-neck langauge to my white friends all the time and ebonics to my black friends. it's all good.”
Yes, it’s all good. Notice how you use the word “friends.” Big difference. I don’t know what your racial background is (nor do I care), but I can almost guarantee you wouldn’t get the same reaction from total strangers. If you’re not black, go up to a black stranger on the street and say in your best so-called “ghetto ebonic jive”, “Whazup, my nigga! Yo momma’s a big-ass ho!” Or better yet, go on national TV and say it so millions of black people around the world can hear you. And see what happens.
Oh, but I was only joking
Monday, September 16, 2002 at 13:25:33 (PDT)
[134.139.116.44]
NEWEST COMMENTS |
EARLIER COMMENTS
|