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ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Yao Ming: The Next Asian Superstar?
(Updated
Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 04:38:56 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?
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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?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
Hi to everyone in the States, here's something that might interest you. In Australia, anti-racial vilification laws would never allow racist comments in sport to go unpunished. Yesterday, Darren Leeman of the Australian cricket team was run out and called his Sri Lankan opponent a 'black c**t' on his way off the field. Despite apologising, he has been branded all over the media as a racist. Tomorrow he faces the international cricket board's tribunal to be suspended for up to 8 matches
Rxx
Friday, January 17, 2003 at 00:34:41 (PST)
[210.50.30.20]
Re: Asian Harlem Globetrotter
This is to clarify the background of the Asian Harlem Globetrotter. His name is Sharavjamts "Shark" Tserenjanhor and he is from Mongolia. The 28 year old is 7' and 210 pounds and was the star of the Mongolian National Basketball team. He is currently the tallest person in Mongolia while his older brother is 6'10". He is fluent in English and is eligible to practice law in Mongolia.
hoopster
Thursday, January 16, 2003 at 22:23:52 (PST)
[63.201.211.202]
Any body read the article written by Bill Walton in ESPN.COM? It is a nicely written piece that expresses equality and racial diversity in not just sports, but in our society as well. Walton also goes on to scorn Shaq's supposed racial comments and praise's Yao's great sportsmanship like response to it. Here's the article, check it out.
http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/walton_bill/1493849.html
Viet guy in Houston
Thursday, January 16, 2003 at 20:21:49 (PST)
[66.25.48.254]
Bill Walton is a nice guy. He treated Yao Ming like his own son, from the beginning of Yao's NBA career. I think he has heart for Asian people.
Even back in the 1970's he protest against the vietnam war and got arrested.
NoJo
Thursday, January 16, 2003 at 18:38:31 (PST)
[24.239.152.113]
Everybody and FOB,
That thought has came to me too. I think that part of the reason why the NBA is going to foreign countries for some talent is because of the things that will benefit them in the future as well. Think about it. Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, and etc. have a huge appeal in their homelands and in America, therefore, they will bring alot of contributions on the court and money wise as well.
Yao Ming is not the only foreign player to give large sums of his money to his counrty. Nowitzki and Pau Gasol of the Grizzlies as well. But think about it with endorsements and other things that people will buy pertaining to their talents. In all, they will make alot of money.
Recently, Yao has finished a commercial with Mini-me in Austin Powers (Real name Vernon Troy)A few more of those comercials a year, his income will skyrocket. Not only in China and America, but everywhere else in Asia.
And pretty soon in three years, Yao can demand, if he continues to improve and get stronger through his weight lifting regiments, he can demand up tp 86 million dollars for a 6 year contract.
Add that 86-50% = 43 million. In all he will only see about 20-30 million dollars of that money, but also add the endorsements all over the world. I tell you, he will be well off. Not only that, the team that signs him will have enough money to expand for another team if possible.
Yao, like others mentioned above, have appeal to the public. And that's what people will see. Think about it, since Yao has come to the Rockets the team has been winning alot more games, largely because he is a big defensive presence. He sometimes hesitate to getting fouls to challenge shots, but him just being in the middle will alter lots of shots, and create lots of double and triple, which in turn, gives the guards and forwards lots of breathing room. It is not easy playing the most stressing position, you know.
If you're a center, you're all alone. There are two forwards and two guards and only one you so you have to play with the mentality of forwards and guards at the same time, which is why not many centers these days with the exception of Shaq score 20+ points per game. Think about it, as a center, Yao is doing pretty well compared to some 2nd year and even 4th year centers in the NBA. Shaq is a different story, he's a bully and a monster in the court with plenty of muscles to show for. He has altered and blocked many shots. And the other thing I've noticed is that when he struggles shooting, he contributes in different ways like blocking and setting open screens for his team mates.
Yao has been known for disliking weight lifting, but he knows that to succeed in the NBA, he has to do some of that as well, which is why he is currently taking it slowly at a time. As he gets stronger, watch out.
Not that I'm comparing him to Shaq, but when he came into the league he wasn't this 350 pound monster that we have gotten to know.
Yao has his hands full on Friday when he plays Shaq and the Lakers. Expect Shaq too try to make a statement while Yao, who has nothing to prove just yet look for his team mates for the open shots. On the other hand, if the Rockets chooses to pass for Yao to make the shots, he does not have to go close to the Rim to make his shots. As for Shaq, he will dunk over Yao several times because let's face it he has the weight and strength advantage. If Yao does not struggle shooting due to his weight lifting regiments, he will be a factor if his team mates struggle.
This is also a big problem for many centers and why they can't shoot the ball. They're strength make it hard for them to control the pulse of the light weight ball. Yes, this is why Shaq still can't make a free throw.
And somehow, if Yao is one of those rare centers who continues to retain his feathery touch while getting stronger like Kareem Abdul Jabber, he will be unstopable in 3-4 years.
One of the greatest shooting and unblockable weapons that he has to use is the Hook shot, which has suddenly gone extinct these days. That was Jabbar's favorite shot and Yao has to do more of those. The hook is so hard to block that it is almost impossible to. In the rare events that Yao used the hook, it has gone in the bucket
freely. Shaq has been known for the hook, but he has not perfected it like Jabber did.
Basketball Man
Thursday, January 16, 2003 at 11:10:46 (PST)
[68.96.110.86]
Yao should fight Shaq,
Don't f*** the Chinese Govt. Yao, Wang and Bateer are the benefactors of the Chinese gov sponsored basketball program. The Chinese Gov has nurtured a lot of elite Chinese athletes in the past several decades.
FOP
Thursday, January 16, 2003 at 10:03:29 (PST)
[66.135.128.76]
ProChinaAntiCCP,
Look, I would be happy to see the guy come in. But the guy is getting old and time is running out. If they draft him any later, my oppinion is that, he may not be as effective. We'll see.
Apple
Thursday, January 16, 2003 at 10:03:11 (PST)
[24.239.152.113]
C'mon what can Yao say to Shaq to shut him up?
Easy!
Start by saying to Shaq when he starts to talk to him in his fake butchered Chinese to degrade him and say in Broken english ... "Ah, Asshole" and bow down, like "Ah, Ah So"
Another would be to say to him "Ah, you are the Radio Shaq man? Oh, I forgot you don't know how to spell Shack"
Another if he starts insulting him is to talk back to him by saying "Shabba Babba shooba sheeba Baba" back to him.
You get the message...
F&%* the Chinese Gov't just because he pays half his paycheck to those damn commies. This is Asian Pride and respect is at stake.
Yao should fight Shack
Wednesday, January 15, 2003 at 18:28:11 (PST)
[209.245.8.245]
http://www.korea-np.co.jp/pk/033rd_issue/98031104.htm
N. Korean Hoopster to Debut in NBA
Jang Ung revealed that north Korean hoopster Ri Myong Hun, the tallest basketball player in the world, would play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) if the U.S. government deregulated its sanction against the DPRK.
Ri (7-foot-9) first attracted the attention of scouts when he appeared in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing and when he played in various international events thereafter such as the Jones Cup Championships in Taipei in August 1996.
"At that time three NBA teams in Maiami, Toronto and New Jersey showed their interest in signing with him," Mr. Jang said.
The 28-year-old Mr. Ri has signed a contract with Evergreen Partner Co., a Toronto-based American sports management firm.
"Ri Myong Hun went to Ottawa, Canada, for professional training in the hope of improving his technique and earning for himself a worldwide fame in the basketball circles," he added.
...
ProChinaAntiCCP
Wednesday, January 15, 2003 at 12:41:48 (PST)
[138.23.110.226]
I think this Shaq - Yao verbal skirmish is an indication what those white NBA executives just want - pit foreign players against black players and let them the foreign players take the spotlights from blacks. Those white execs have been fed up by black players' arrogance. Even Hollywood churned out a movie "White Men Can't Jump" to mock white men. Now white men are reasserting themselves by importing foreign players to oust blacks from the league. Though they say it is just a issue of globalization, there is so much politics behind it. It's gonna be ugly.
FOP
Wednesday, January 15, 2003 at 11:36:43 (PST)
[65.146.34.164]
MrRickhunter,
Okay Robotech is as about white boy centric as Sushi. Everyone knows it from Japanese. Blue hair, big eyes, and giant robots.
Yeah but just because Shaq is stupid is no excuse either. That would be like saying if Yao made a racial attack on Blacks. He could always hide behind the fact he flunked the entrance exam to Beijing University.
I'm sorry but asians have every right to feel insulted by Shaq comments. There is no ands, ifs, or buts about it. Shaq made a really big mistake, twice. And now he should make an unconditional apology. End of story.
AC Dropout
Wednesday, January 15, 2003 at 10:10:36 (PST)
[24.136.115.189]
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