I do believe that there WAS those that wanted Yao to fail and in part, I think that his ethnicity played into that. Preconceptions about Asians and sports, just plain xenophobic reactions, some never saw him play and were already callling him a bust (this was the biggest hint into why I think there was more to judging Yao than on just basketball skill) Now, though, he has proved himself more than just a marketing ploy. Yao Ming actually can play the game and although he has to catch up with the marketing, there are way more fans of Yao Ming now than those who doubt his potential greatness. It's all in the past now. Stuart
WZZ certainly has problem getting passes from his teammates, even he is quite skilled on offense. Compared to him, Yao is much more luckier.
Does it make that much of a difference if the original poster is Asian or not. Even if he is, does it prove that he is wrong and you are right. You for once should stop "pulling the race card".
It's real life in action. For some, it might have reminded them how they used to be able to pick on that skinny Asian kid back in junior high.
ahh the 90s... those were the days of real hooping. Don't forget Penny over Ewing. www.geocities.com/prmovies/downloads/jam_over_ewing.zip
Lets not beat around the bush, this thread is purely about race and the clash of the NBA culture versus Yao. While I believe the majority of players have accepted Yao as just another player, there are always a few ignorant knuckleheads who sees things racially and for them Yao is just another ch*nk. 1-2% of the players have this kind of view. It's America, we can't escape racism, prejudice, etc. While I totally feel this is a silly reason to dislike Yao purely because of race, for the most part I sorta see where they're coming from. It's because he's a talented non-threatening individual, so the NBA market types jump all over this guy, and has articles written about him not to mention numerous appearances on non sports things, like Regis and Kathie Lee, etc. Meanwhile an African American superstar who is just trying to be himself, is told that being himself makes him a threatening individual, so his endorsement dollars aren't as high as Yao's, and his personal appearance requests aren't as high as Yao's. If they grew up in a neighborhood where the only asians they see are the ones following them around in stores, and then have to deal with this, I can definetely see why they would be racially motivated to have dislike for Yao. It might not be ideal, but the racial barrier and the stereotypes and perceptions that comes with it was and still is the biggest one for Yao to overcome
the media and refs are different. Media want to see Yao succeed because that will be a good story. Refs want to see Yao fail because lost of them are rasists.
Or that one where John Starks basically made his name at MSG by jamming one home over two Bulls, one of whom wore #23.... EDIT: this one:
Interesting topic. I think there might be a certain amount of latent racism and racial ignorance involved when it comes to Yao, think about Shaq's ching chong comments, but at the same time I think Yao benefits disproportianetly too from being Chinese. IMO I think Yao's somewhat overrated. I didn't think he deserves to be voted as the starter for the All Star game twice or should be considered one of the top NBA players. Now am I saying that because I'm really a self-hating Asian who from growing up in the States has been conditioned to buy into racial stereotypes? No, I'm saying that because Yao's stats and on court leadership ability IMO don't yet merit him to be considered with the Shaq's, Duncans and Garnetts of the NBA. Although as a Chinese American I do get a sense of pride seeing someone who looks like me and speaks English like my dad up there succeeding in the NBA. As a Chinese American it makes me proud also that he's well spoken humble and carries himself with dignity too. Like Jackie Robinson he has handled the immense burden of being a symbol for his people with exceeding grace. All of this is important but there's one more thing about Yao that makes him more of a phenomenom to be resented and loved. For the NBA he is the gateway to a 1.2 billion plus market. All of the attention directed towards Yao, the Asian nights, the SI covers and even the seemingly negative highlight reels come down to that any news on Yao even bad news will be closely followed in China. The NBA is a business and as any good business knows you always want to expand your market. Yao Ming is the key to the largest market in the world and as long as he is we're going to continue to see an inordinate amount of attention paid to him. One last thought here. As far as Yao being a good example of the Chinese athletic program and being a threat to American athletics I totally disagree. Considering he's a 7'-6" with soft hands and an amazing shooting touch if anything the Chinese athletic program have limited his ability. Here's a guy with the deft shooting touch of Bird in Mark Eaton's body yet he plays a plodding timid game, doesn't run the court well, has problems rebounding and posting up. IMO if Yao had developed under the more creative environment and tougher competition of the US college system he would be living up to the potential that all of us hope to see in him.
Okay, no where in my original post did I state that Yao Ming wasn't embraced by the fans. I think he's been strongly embraced by the fans. I think the media has picked up on this, but originally, basketball insiders, sports writers, Charles Barkley, other players and ESPN seemed largely against him at the beginning. For what reason? Where did this anti-Yao Ming passion come from? Why was he the target of all his hostility right away? Obviously, a logical person who conclude that he was the target because he was completely different from nearly every other player in the NBA. Compare Yao Ming's treatment to that of Jay Williams, a great American college player who nearly every member of the American basketball establishment predicted would be a huge success. Well, we all know Jay Williams isn't even in the league anymore and he sucked even when he was in the league. They weren't going out of their way to ridicule him even though he fully deserved it. Why? Because then they'd have to remind themselves how wrong they were about him. Better to just drop him down the memory hole and act like he never existed. This same thing happened to the Europeans when they first showed up. Contrary to other posts, I don't think this has much to do with race. It has more to do with how any establishment is resistant to change.
Everybody wants to be a leading actor,not a supporting role.But that is not realistic.In rockets,there is someone who doesnt know his role and wants to show off blindly.As a result,defence becomes a big problem for rockets now.everybody knows Offence is easier than defence.Who is willing to do these dirty work?Now I miss Cato very much.He is a RESPECTABLE player!!!!
I know why I have expressed some negativity towards Yao, and its because he has been very overhyped. Some people think he is the best thing since slice bread. There has been many posts saying that Yao at this point in his career is better than Hakeem at the same in his Career. Obviously I disagree. Even though I think Yao is a good player, I spend more time talking about his weeknesses than his strong points because of so many people talking about how much better he is than everyone else. In short expressing Negativity towards Yao is an easy way, but not the best way, for many people to explain that Yao is not as good as others think that he is.
Many people think Yao is better than "Hakeem at the same in his Career", NOT. Many people like or even admire Yao, YES. Some are SOF and like to bash Yao, YES. Some are jealous of Yao or even racial about it, definitely YES. Some think anyone who started a thread on Yao's behalf must be a Asian, we got one here.
