Asians in American Sports | Asian American Poll

ASIANS IN AMERICAN SPORTS
(Updated Wednesday, Jan 22, 2025, 06:39:09 AM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Which male athlete has done the most to promote the image of Asian American men?
Tennis Player Michael Chang | 39%
Pitcher Chanho Park | 22%
Golfer Tiger Woods | 9%
Linebacker Dat Nguyen | 12%
Rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki | 11%
Left Wing Paul Kariya | 7%

Which female athlete has done the most to promote the image of Asian American women?
Figure Skater Kristi Yamaguchi | 18%
Pool Player Jeanette Lee | 2%
Figure Skater Michele Kwan | 57%
Golfer Se-ri Pak | 23%

This poll is closed to new input.
Comments posted during the past year remain available for browsing.

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WHAT YOU SAY

[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]

aabb, yes it's true that Sadaharu Oh is half-Chinese. ButI din't know his last name was a Japanese version of 'Wand'.
But it seems he won't be the home-run king much longer, as Tuffy Rhodes has matched his record and has a good chance of beating it during the play-offs...
smallworld Wednesday, October 10, 2001 at 03:47:36 (PDT)

I don't believe Eugene Chung was the first full blooded Asian born in the US in the NFL. Wasn't there a UCLA kicker who very briefly played for the Cardinals, John Lee?

Wasn't Dat Nguyen born in Vietnam?
confused Wednesday, October 10, 2001 at 01:03:21 (PDT)

Its Cheung God dammit not Chung.....
Quote properly Tuesday, October 09, 2001 at 18:56:44 (PDT)

Sadaharu Oh is Korean. He now manages the Daiei Hawks if im not mistaken.
i51 Tuesday, October 09, 2001 at 12:45:04 (PDT)

nidamama, just because this is an Asian site doesn't mean we can't momemtarily stop and congratulate a non-asian for an unbelievable feat.
CONGRATULATIONS TO SAMMY SOSA! first player to hit 60 or more homers in three straight season.
Congratulations to all the dorks (may they live a long life) who give recognition to amazing accomplishments regardless of where it's given.
i'm a dork Tuesday, October 09, 2001 at 10:18:09 (PDT)

F*** BARRY BONDS!
He's an arrogant asshole!
I'm happy to see Dat with the Cowboys but wasn't Eugene Chung
(315 lbs. offensive lineman with the Patriots) first American born Asian American pro NFL player???
whoopie Monday, October 08, 2001 at 21:10:49 (PDT)

Is it true that the Japanese home run king is of half Chinese (Taiwanese)descent? They say his father was from Taiwan and with the last name Wang (Oh in Japanese)?
aabb Monday, October 08, 2001 at 20:50:25 (PDT)

wasn't eugene chung a full bloodied asian born in the us? he played in the nfl.
ck Monday, October 08, 2001 at 00:23:55 (PDT)

Congratulations ICHIRO SUZUKI!!!!!!!!

2001 Batting Champion
2001 Stolen Base Champion
Most hits in the MLB with 242 (a new rookie record).

Whats next?

Rookie of the Year
MVP
ALCS MVP
World Series MVP
ASIAN SLUGGER Sunday, October 07, 2001 at 17:23:22 (PDT)

jjk,

Yeah Bonds has 73 hrs now but I thought this forum was about Asian athletes? I think you're a dork!!!!
nidamama Sunday, October 07, 2001 at 14:43:38 (PDT)

CONGRATULATIONS TO BARRY BONDS!!!
jjk Saturday, October 06, 2001 at 17:11:43 (PDT)

I think that it is very important to have Asian athletes in major sports in the U.S. It makes me proud to be Asian whenever I see an Ichiro or a Chan Ho Park on TV. Both of these guys have flourished in the major leagues and have done so much to promote the image of Asian Americans. I am Chinese American and I hope that Wang Chao of China makes it to the major leagues. There are no Chinese or Chinese American baseball players in the majors. It would be quite a breakthrough if somebody like Wang Chao made it. It would prove that Chinese people do like baseball unlike what others think.
Andrew Hong Saturday, October 06, 2001 at 09:26:19 (PDT)

Dat Nguyen is the true Asian American athlete hero. He was born here, his parents went through hell, he was slightly undersized for football, he went through racism and yet he still had an awesome career at Texas A&M, made it into the NFL, and is still playing there.

Yes this is the only full blooded Asian guy born in the US to play in any of the four major pro sport leagues. I cheer and root for this pioneer. Doesn't it feel good when you see a Vietnamese guy give a Black guy a concussion? It definately feels good to me.
chinese guy from washington st. Tuesday, October 02, 2001 at 00:10:30 (PDT)

Ichiro is by far the most positive image in sports for Asian males. Unlike the other sports, baseball is by far America's sport and the most commercially marketed. Chan Ho Park is awesome but he only pitches once every five games. Ichiro on the other hand is an everyday player and is the best leadoff hitter in the league. (leads in hits, batting avg., runs scored, and second in stolen bases.)
We need more Asians in sports. Monday, October 01, 2001 at 00:51:50 (PDT)

ICHIRO...ICHIRO...ICHIRO...How could u go wrong with this guy. He leads the league in batting average, hits, stolen bases, and is a lock for the gold glove and rookie of the year. He is partially responsible for the Mariners fantastic season.

He totally breaks the stereotypical asain male image that so many of us suffer from. The entire city of Seattle has embraced him and so has the entire world of baseball. Everyones eyes are on this guy and so many people are fascinated by his talents and skills. Is there another asain athlete that gets this much attention and respect by sports fans and the media as ICHIRO?

I know Tiger Woods is half Asain, but he is never looked that way by the media and by mainstream america. Most people identify Tiger Woods as being African American because of the way that he looks and also because of the fact that a Black man is dominating a white sport. The media wouldn't make that big of a deal if an Asain male dominated golf.

ICHIRO....ICHIRO...ICHIRO. This guy is the man and thats all there is to say!
azn playa Friday, September 28, 2001 at 01:24:41 (PDT)

what about Coung Le, a professional kickboxing/san-shuo Champion fighter.
Taz917 Thursday, September 20, 2001 at 12:48:16 (PDT)

Sumo is definetelly more than ``FAT men bumping bellies`` Actually fat is only on the surface of their whole bodies. They are consisted of fine strong and flexible muscles. And most imoprtant thing in the match is the technics and skills.
If you considered sumo like you said,
it`s just because you are the one who
judge every thing by its appearance and
who always say something about things
you are ignorant of.
nah!! Wednesday, September 19, 2001 at 09:40:46 (PDT)

A small correction for the editor: ichiro is a rightfielder, not a centerfielder (well not as long as he's playing for the Mariners).
Thomas Tuesday, September 18, 2001 at 16:26:25 (PDT)

[Oops! Thanks for setting us straight. --Ed]

Sumo, is that even a sport???
I don't consider two obese FAT men bumping bellies a sport, I rather find it disgusting.
I can't believe Michael Change gardner the most votes. THIS IS A JOKE!
Damn, its sad all the Chinese males only have Michael Chang to look up to.
He ain't even good.

Sumo is a sport?? Saturday, September 15, 2001 at 17:42:01 (PDT)

We as asian should take notice to up and coming asian-american athletes such as...Justin Ancheta (filipino-american) Kevin Na (korean american) and there are more out there. But for these kids to make an impact they must be recognized by everyone while they are young.

Asian-American youths in sports Saturday, September 08, 2001 at 08:36:00 (PDT)

Michael Chang? You've got to be kidding me. He's so stereotypically Asian/Christian goodboy, seemingly a bit sheltered, and far from interesting. As for Tiger, he doesn't look Asian, nor does he or most people consider himself Asian so he ain't Asian. Same with Paul Kariya, who does NOT identify himself as Asian.

Anyway, Ichiro may not be Asian American, but I'll still give my vote to him.
aga Wednesday, August 29, 2001 at 20:15:20 (PDT)

Any news on the sumo wrestler wakanohana? Did he sign with any NFL team yet? That'll be a trip huh? Sumo wrestler for an offensive lineman.

Congrats on Ichiro-200 hits!! He needs 15 more to pass the franchise record by Alex Rodriguez. 57 more to break the single season record. Will he do it?

Can anyone tell me whats going on with yao min? Is he coming here next year?
TLX Tuesday, August 28, 2001 at 18:40:00 (PDT)

I can't wait til China starts exporting it's basketball studs like Yao Ming and Menk Batere, amongst many others to the NBA. If anything will change and DEMOLISH the image of Asian men as weak, sexless nerds, it will be 7'0, strong, handsome Chinese men with skills!

Ichiro is cool, but he's still dwarfed by White and Black men. No doubt, it's time for big Asian men to arrive on the scene. Also, I hope 6'4 Wang Chao will become an ace pitcher, towering over his teammates! But for now, I'll be cheering for Ichiro in baseball at least!
Chinese Basketball fan Monday, August 27, 2001 at 21:55:55 (PDT)

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