"Oakley criticized the performance of Chinese center Yao Ming of Houston and German star Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas in making a point about race and NBA marketing. "The majority of the fans are white and the league has a lot of European guys they want to make superstars, but all they can do is shoot," Oakley said. "A lot of white players play great in the regular season. But when crunch time comes, not too many of them show up." You didn't post the most important thing that oak said. Of course the NBA will promote White players, Black players and Asian players to market to those specific demographics. The point is it helps the NBA if Ming is a Superstar; it helps if Dirk or another White player is a Superstar. However, despite the attempt, they are not, at least not yet. Unless you carried your team to a ring, a finals appearance or won a MVP trophy, you're not a Superstar, regardless of race and regardless of the Marketing tool of the NBA. I'm sure Oak would have said the same thing about young players coming into the league with a lot of hype like Lebron if that was what the conversation was about. Remember Oak also was critical of Vince when he wouldn't step up like the superstar he was being portrayed as. No one can deny that on the biggest stage he has played in, Yao played soft. And while he maybe someday, here on June 10, 2004, Yao is not a superstar.
You know, for someone that b****es a lot about racism, you sure did lump everyone in the GARM into a nice category here. Nicely done. Obviously, since some people liked the signing of Oakley and hoped he would do well for this team, EVERYONE in here b****ing about his comments loved him until he made these comments. You can be so unbelievably hypocritical at times, RR.
calm down . . . . . I never liked Oak . . . and thought he was disruptive that much is obvious. . he brought nothing to the team In the end . . . it is nothing more than a SEE I TOLD YA HE SUCKED post Once again . . . .calm down BTW - b****es alot about Racism? whatever RAGINGFIRE: It was sarcastic - I think Oakley is a buffon would be thugs. . . I don't think he brought anything to the team and I find his commentary them and now as nothing more than complete and utter CRAP Rocket River what a laff
Yeah and how many minutes did you play this season? Oh yeah, your highlight was one tough foul on Zach Thomas. Nice season, Oakley.
CO gives the title Mr Irrelevant new definition. better? he is just irrelevant. BTW - flashing back to their younger days when Barkley punked Oakley on the court, made him his absolute b----!
You know, this is just another example of Oak running his mouth. He does this. Chuckles does this, too--he just gets paid to do it by Turner. What we really should be focused on is that fact that this whole subject is due to something a REAL legendary player said; meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune is quoting relative hacks like Oakley and Scott Skiles. Yao will be great and Dirk already is, at least as an offensive player. Oak is just wearing a bitter beer face because he could only dream of having the type of shooting touch those two (and Larry) have. Having said that, I've always enjoyed hearing Oak spouting off. If nothing else, it's entertaining. Moral of the story: Who cares?
If black people are so awesome, how come there are no blacks in Motley Crue, Charles?!! Heh heh. Not using logic is so awesome.
Even a buffon could speak the truth on occasion. Anyway, having the best player who happens to be of a particular race in a particular sport doesn' equate racial dominance. Besides Tiger and the Williams sisters, are there any more black superstars in those sports. nil.
we are all indivuduals ...stop see everything in white or black... Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant and Serena Williams is Serena Williams. Are they family? no they are not. Races aren't different but people are
and the word ''race'' shouldn't be use to define one's origin.... Race is a word to use on animals not on humans.I think is not humanitive to use that word.
whats funny about his comments is that Yao is already twice the offensive player Oakley ever was, and he's only going to get better.
To be precise, I don't think Tiger is a black. He is more like people from Latin America, Hispanics but does not speak Spanish. I am pretty sure lots of players in the NBA are of mixed race. They should be counted as a seperate race if there is a need to count. Is it true that by 2050 according to the forecast from the census bureau, more than 30% of the population will be hispanics, i.e. mixed race? NBA certainly should start to cater to this segment of the population?
If the NBA really wants to make Dirk and Yao Ming superstars, they should introduce FOREIGN referees into the league to create a LEVEL playground. Understandably, lots of foreign players never got the calls they deserved. Lots of U.S. players (and referees to be players) harbor bias against foreign players. Just like Barkeley said on TV: "They are not brothers." If the calls are really made according to the rule book or even on an equal footing, I am pretty sure Dirk will be a superstar while Yao could become one.
Latino are of mixed race from White, Black, Asian and Indians. Since they mainly speak Spanish (or Portugese) and from Latin America, they are called Hispanics. Tiger Woods is of mixed race. Race wise, Tiger is the same as Hispanics. By the way, people might wonder if countries in Latin America have race problems. Well, if they do, the problem is very mnor. The reason: governments in Latin America have always been promoting interracial marriage. Anyway, I think eventually people will see lots of players come from Latin America in the NBA just like it is today in Major League Baseball.
