Big man to big man and guard to guard. I guarantee you the first meeting they have, that Kidd, Marbury, Francis all will have something to show Mr. Williams. It's part of the game.
That's like saying it's silly on Brand's part that he had the NBA as a goal and didn't drink more milk growing up to build up his body to a more legitimate power forward height. Now it's fine to make the excuse that Ming is being singled out because he is an unknown that most players know little about. But such ignorance or lack of knowledge is in fact the very catalyst for said racism. If Ming had been drafted #1 out of Germany or Spain, for example, he would not be subject to nearly the ridicule he currently receives. On the contrary, he would be hailed and compared to Nowitzki and Gasol left and right whether any players had seen him play or not. Because no great players have come out of China in the past, he is being pigeonholed as an overly-hyped no-game having scrub. The ignorance has evolved into racism.
Come on guys, everbody talks trash in sports. Jordan was the king of trash, and the king of basketball. Regardless of what this US squad states, they are not the best of the best. They are barely even all-star calibar. So they feel better, shooting off their mouths. Especially when an unknown gets more attention then they do.
Come on gettinbranded, didn't keep his body in good shape? How many times have players said that they didn't know how much they had to build up their bodies until they played a year in the NBA? David Robinson and Hakeem were thin as rails when they first came into the league. But if Wallace wants to run his mouth go ahead. We'll see Mr. Wallace, bring it on!
Every #1 pick gets hype, what's the difference? And actually there are more people calling Ming another Shawn Bradley then hyping him. People are predicting Ming to be the biggest flop in history how is that hyping him!?
I'd suggest you alter your parenting quite a bit. Athletes are nothing more than entertainers. If you can't teach your child to distinguish between good qualities to emulate and bad ones, then turn the television and computer off. And: They are paid according to the market for their services (IOW: The amount of humans on Earth who can do what they do the way they do it is very rare, so they are paid accordingly) Until humanity decides it's no longer important to them, these guys will continue to be important, and will continue to be paid as such.
LOL There's not a thing anyone can do the change the height their body will attain to. Other things, however, are changable. Did you see the difference Curry's body took on coming into the league vs his high school days? He worked out with a trainer and cut the fat and built some serious muscle. Even more so this year. Or how about Jared Jeffries between his final college game and being drafted? I don't see it as dislike for his race. It's the newness, and his being the first. The first time an alien from the planet Xog is the first pick in the draft, he'll recieve the same reception.
Possum you are quit wrong about Trash Talking being acceptable in all sports! In fact by most decent sportsmen it's considered DIRTY PLAY.AS a former International Coach I can assure that its more of an American thing and is looked down upon and frowned upon, as a hinderance in fair clean SPORT.
i don't like the suggesstiveness of possum's parenting qualities there ... and i don't see how you can claim athletes are nothing more than entertainers. children and adults alike will continue to idolize them - respect for their game (michael jordan), role models who support the community (magic johnson) or an example of someone who pulled themselves out of poverty and troubles (leon smith) those characteristics are ones the society as a whole aspires to endow into each individual of the society. when these characteristics are tainted with deviant behavior, people are eventually going to learn the wrong thing - not always because of bad parenting/education but because sometimes the line becomes undefinable or is too fine etc... back to the main thread - i'm usually pretty sensitive to racism etc but i really dont see anything in ben wallace's comments. he's giving yaoming the rookie treatment, time to play with the big boy's etc... the more of a star you're projected to be, the more you're put into your place. isiah thomas did the same to jordan, was he wrong? maybe... but it's not enough about ethnic groups here to make that distinction
I just wouldn't trash talk to someone who I don't even know and who is less likely to respond to me. Yao isn't from the playgrounds. Settle it on the court. Respect as in respect for your opponent. Respect him as a person. Wallace should be an assistant for that Harlem little league team.
I know how to raise my kids so I don't need your uniformed ignorant advice. What about the millions of kids out there who idolize these players that don't have quality parenting? Should they be exposed to this kind of behavior just because they don't have parents that care about them? You just keep living in your perfect little world and ignoring the fact that a lot of people don't have it as good as you or your kids. Take a look around this crap has filtered down from the pro’s to college through high school all the way down to the minor leagues. There was a special on this very subject the other day on ESPN. If it comes back on you would be doing yourself a favor by watching it. Once again Yes they deserve the money they make I never said different. However when you are in a position of influence you should act accordingly. If you agree with this kind of behavior it just shows your class or lack of.
Going back to the original thread subject, I think it may be a good thing for Yao to "take his lumps " in this game, which wil have a limited television audience, rather than during an NBA game. It will give him a taste of what is coming and hopefully motivate him to get stronger as well as prepare himself mentally.
Yetti it was dwil8686 who said that not me. I think it has no place in sports or anywhere else for that matter. It just shows a lack of class IMO.
YOU are responsible for teaching your child. If you idolize athletes, they will too. If you differentiate between QUALITIES (which an athlete may or may not have) and teach your child to, they will too. Just because someone is in the spotlight doesn't mean they deserve to be idolized.
Nope. But we're never going to get the athletes to change. Besides, you addressed YOUR kids in the original post...not anyone elses
Everyone need to be a little real here I mean this is a team sport and there are 5 guys playing out there and the other 4 are not on the Rockets team so we cant tell about Yao in the team he has verses the team he will be on TEAM GAME TEAM GAME
You are right we will never get the athletes to change because of people like you who who defend them and except their behavior while ignoring the problems it causes because its fun to watch.
gettinbranded, Possum was trying to make a point... how he raises his kids is none of your business and has nothing to do with this discussion (whatever the discussion is about). You are making an a$$ out of yourself. Just drop it, OK? Yao has clearly had weight training that is nothing like what he'll get with the Rocks or any NBA team (except tha Bulls ), so I'm not worried about it. I just wish he was at Westside instead of playing all these damn games. (JMHO)
