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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.]
Phil Jackson is SOOOO reluctant to give Yao any "credibility". And then he says the game was decided by the referee.! Talk about an ungracious loser that just got a call errantly in his favor for a ball out of bounds.
And if you want to be real about it, why doesn't Phil Jackson give game 6 against the Kings back. afterall, the refs decided that one too.
Cuts both ways Philly boy, i smell something deep rooted in his hubris.
Jao
Saturday, January 18, 2003 at 20:37:15 (PST)
[66.81.74.135]
It was a letdown after the first 3 minutes because Yao disappeared and pretty much got shut out by Shaq after that. I think between halfway through first quarter and the buzzer at regulation, Yao only managed to have one little basket, and it was not over Shaq. Yao also had a wide open dunk in overtime, but that was it. His offense was limited and stopped by the Shaq diesel train. The blocks were okay, but when you're 7-5 and defending smaller people, that's what you're supposed to do. Shaq got a couple mean nasty rim shattering jams on ming though. Robert Horry had one on him too, and Yao's defense needs to be expanded or else he might land in someone's poster. Either way, the rebounding situation wasn't too good in the first half. There's still too much inconsistency in what he is able to do. ESPN had been hyping this game all week, but too bad only one center showed up for the matchup. Yao shooting 35% is not that efficient, especially being 7-5. He should try to take better shots and avoid the stupid fadeaway. He's too tall for it, and it's not even effective for him. He just needs to learn to take it up strong instead of backing down from competition.
Where was Yao after 3min?
Saturday, January 18, 2003 at 19:40:02 (PST)
[63.161.167.211]
To Rxx,
A couple of comments with regard to your post:
Regarding the Darren Lehmann case, just to clarify a point, the racial vilification laws that Lehmann is being judged by are those of the International Cricket Council, not of federal Australian law.
The other issue is that the difference between the Lehmann case and the Shaq/Ming case is that had Lehmann made the same comments as Shaq, that is racist remarks towards Asians rather that Blacks, it is questionable whether it would have provoked the same response from the Australian media.
The problems Asians face in the White majority English speaking countries I have been in - the U.K. and Australia, and from what I read about the U.S. - is that there are often double standards when it comes to what is regarded as racist. While overt racism against blacks is more often than not criticised, similar racism against Asians is often ignored and in many situations even considered socially acceptable.
Shaq was not wrong when he stated:
"I'm not the first comedian to do that...It's an old joke that's been done before."
The sad fact is that Shaq may be saying what he really thinks when he says he doesn't believe his comments were racist. This itself is a reflection of how deeply ingrained racism towards Asians really is in these societies and how far we have to go to change the public mind-set.
S Wu
Saturday, January 18, 2003 at 15:48:21 (PST)
[211.28.96.69]
for those that think shaq's comments weren't racist, how convenient for you that you aren't asian. its easy to sit back and say its not offensive or not suppose to offend when you're not the ones being offended. if it was a joke about fried chicken and blacks i wouldn't be offended either. since its convenient i'm not black.
so unless you're the race/group being insulted.. have compassion or just keep your mouth shut..
asian american
Saturday, January 18, 2003 at 14:43:16 (PST)
[66.166.113.23]
I was very proud to see someone like Yao on the court. Even though I'm not chinese (I'm Corean)I think Yao's taken one big step for Chinese people, and one bigger step for Asians.
goodtimes
Saturday, January 18, 2003 at 13:33:09 (PST)
[65.144.7.186]
Praises to Yao. He's surely shown everyone where the NBA is heading in the future.
I feel sorry for Wang and Menk. They've been nothing but bench warmers this season, and this could be their last season. That's OK, because in no more than two years, at least two more Chinese players will enter the NBA that will replace them. They are Xue Yuyang and Tang Zhengdong, both 7'1". Xue is faster and more aggressive than Wang; Xue doesn't hide behind the 3-point line like Wang, and Xue defends the ball far more aggresively. Tang is a bigger version of Menk, and plays more aggressively.
Wang had his chance to be a superstar two years ago. He has the size, skill, and agility, but he blew it with his lackluster play. It's time to make them (Wang and Menk) get serious about their play, or else ship them back to China. Because there's plenty more Chinese players abroad ready to replace them, and put more pressure on other NBA players.
Right now, 7-footers are common in China, but the scary (or exubriant) thing is that, in about 10 years, there should be some 8-footers from China entering the NBA. Right now there's a 12 year old kid in northern China who's 6'11", and should grow to be at least 7'8". With the chinese govt becoming more serious about raising athletes (it's very lucrative, the chinese govt gets half of the salary of all Chinese NBA players), they can find kids even younger than 12 years old, based on family traits, with athletic potential and train and feed them even younger, helping them to reach the 8-foot mark upon adulthood.
BTW, does anyone have any information about that 7'3" basketball player, a senior in high school, from South Korea?
B. Lee
Saturday, January 18, 2003 at 11:17:30 (PST)
[208.58.206.36]
I don't know about anyone else, but I am absolutely NOT satisfied with Shaq's attitude about his racist-like comments. Even after the game, he commented that "some stupid writer" was trying to start a racial war. I would like to believe that Austin-based writer Irwin Tang is 100 times more intelligent than Shaq. I know that Shaq did not mean to be racist, but he still just doesn't get it!! He continues to blame Irwin Tang for this whole mess when it was his ignorance that started it. If dumb Shaq bothered to read Tang's article, Shaq would understand what this is all about. He offered a weak apology which was not at all satisfactory. He still refuses to own up to his actions. I was happy to see the OCA (Organization of CHinese Americans) hold a press conference prior to the game. The NBA is big business, but the NBA and David Stern are sure being stupid. It's ironic that they just set up a website in CHinese for the huge market potential in China this past week. I seriously wonder if the Chinese media has learned of SHaq's comments. I would love to see the Chinese press or government raise some hell about this. After all, Yao is basically an ambassador of the govt. I know SHaq isn't going to offer the type of apology the OCA has demanded, so I'm curious to see what further action they plan to take...all I know is I will support them.
Hats off to the Los Angeles ABC affiliate and sports anchor Rob Fukusaki for playing that interview in which Shaq made those stupid comments. They were the only ones to bring further light to this incident and the OCA press conference. I know Rob FUkusaki is involved in the AA community in LA and I believe he helped push to have it broadcast again.
Many non-AA are probably wondering why we are making such a big deal out of some stupid comments by a stupid athlete. Basically, we are a small minority in the US, but we are absolutely not gonna get pushed around. If WE, the AAs continue to let racist comments be said against us, WE are the ones to blame because we did nothing about them. I've heard those same stupid comments when I was growing up. If Shaq says it, what's gonna stop his young fans from doing the same thing? White people absolutely don't want to involve groups like the NAACP when someone says a racist comments about black people. We AAs too need to have a strong voice saying "don't mess with us." Fuzzy Zoeller and Trent Lott paid a heavy price with their bone-headed comments. They did the same thing as Shaq... trying to be funny with ignorant comments with racist tones. In light of this, Shaq has gotten off way too easy. I'm not saying crucify the guy, but he needs to provide an unqualified apology and own up to his mistake and not blame an AA advocate (Tang) for this whole mess. I hope the OCA will go after him and the NBA so that a satisfactory apology can me made.
That being said, let's continue to fight racism. Until Shaq provides an acceptable apology, he is in the same category as Abercrombie and Fitch, the National Review, and Denny's.
I hope I'm down with all my Asian brothers and sisters on this. Peace out.
LA KA guy
Saturday, January 18, 2003 at 11:03:12 (PST)
[63.201.209.62]
MrLynnMinnMay Fan,
I'm sure Yao is okay. He played fine on Friday. I think he sprained his knuckle this time though.
It's a trade of in the early stage of import anime. Without the edits and cutting Robotech wouldn't be accepted and be a stepping stone to the slew of imports we have now on tv. You're bring out the closet otaku in me. So I'm going to have to refrain from this line of comments. ^_^
AC Dropout
Saturday, January 18, 2003 at 10:46:05 (PST)
[24.136.115.189]
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