Yao hires translator for NBA season http://espn.go.com/nba/s/2002/1009/1443431.html Colin Pine was walking through the streets of Baltimore, when he got the call. He had been selected as the translator for Yao Ming, the Houston Rockets' rookie center from China. "I'm 5-foot-10 and he's 7-foot-5," said Pine, 28, who works for the U.S. government translating documents from Chinese to English. "I think my neck is going to hurt because I'm constantly going to be looking up at him and maybe his ear will hurt because he'll have to cup it since I'll be yelling up there." After posting the job description -- which required the translator to speak English as a first language, speak fluent Chinese and have knowledge of basketball -- on university Web sites and Chinese language aficionado bulletin boards, Yao's distant cousin and agent Erik Zhang said he received about 350 letters and résumés. Yao, the top pick in the NBA draft last June, is expected to sign a three-year deal for $12,442,680 in the coming days. The deal is expected to include an option for a fourth season which will bring the contract's total value to about $18 million. Pine applied for the translator job, but said he didn't expect to hear back. "It wasn't hard to figure out that there would be a lot of people applying," said Pine, who is a lifelong Maryland Terrapins fan. Now he will be in the middle of conversations Yao will be having with Steve Francis, the Rockets' guard and a former Terp. Halfway through the process, Zhang said he had to eliminate the 20 to 30 percent of applicants because he wasn't sure that hiring a woman would be appropriate in certain settings like the team's locker room. But Zhang said Pine, who honed his skills by playing pickup basketball in China while studying at the National Taiwan University, was clearly the best candidate. "He knew all these basketball terms in Chinese -- traveling, zone defense and press," Zhang said. Agents and players often take it upon themselves to hire the translator, though teams are responsible for paying for their services and expenses. According to estimates by league sources, a translator costs an NBA team about $70,000, including expenses like food and lodging during some 60 days on the road during the season. Translators have become common in locker rooms. In baseball, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Kaz Ishii conducts interviews with the American media through Scott Akasaki, while Seattle Mariners reliever Kaz Sasaki uses Allen Turner. Last season in the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks hired Sary Benzvi as an assistant coach to help translate head coach Don Nelson's words into Mandarin for Chinese center Wang ZhiZhi. The Denver Nuggets had Tong Li to help Chinese center Mengke Bateer. Although Yao speaks some English, Zhang said Pine will be expected to be near Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich during games should Yao need a quick translation. He also will be present at practices and public appearances. "Yao's translator has the dual role of translating as well as helping him get acclimated to American society," Zhang said. Chris
Good news, except for this: If you're a woman applicant, you have a prima facie gender discrimination case. Luckily, they covered themselves by saying he was clearly the best qualified. Hopefully, this is true.
I thought so. This is a smart move by Erik. It is clear that Yao wants to be "friend" of the all-star guard.
Agreed. They should not have said to have eliminated 30% of the the applicants because they are women. It is a pratical matter but not correct politically speaking.
So is this guy gonna be on the floor in a Rockets uni as well? I mean come on...Steve is trying to signal to Ming or change a play and Ming does not understand. I guess they will call timeout and the "translator" will explain to Ming like a child what to do. This will come back to haunt us................
get him on the BBS. We can break him down to spill the beans on awesome inside info, like which player Yao cusses out in Chinese first.
Ballerman: you think Ming is an imbecile or a child because they hired a translator? For kapayas sake man!... they hired a translator not a special ed teacher. They hired this guy to help him ease into the process of adapting to a new culture. For Ming, this new translator, is a luxury, not a form of dependence.
The guy has been playing basketball for years you don't think he knows how to signal to other basketball players? Maybe the translator can translate to you "like a child" that he's just a luxury for Ming not a necessity.
When asked about his opinion of Yao on the draft night, Sir Charles said he "cant speak English". When asked about his opinion of Sir Charles on the draft night, Gotoloveit2 said he "speaks too much meaningless English".
WHY DID I TAKE FRENCH ALL OF THOSE YEARS!?!?!?!??!?!?! Maybe Tony Parker needs someone in San Antonio. "TONY!! Va Ton derrier dans le basket s'il vous plait!!!!"
Good question. Not sure that it (Bona Fide Occupational Qualification for those who don't speak legalese) does. There are women reporters, women trainers. Male coaches in the WNBA. Accommodations could be made ....
I am a Corporate and Securities and Merger and Acquisition Lawyer. But let me take a quick stab at it. I do not think those antidiscrimination laws apply to an individual hiring someone for a personal service. I believe those laws only apply to organizations of a certain size. Also, you might could successfuly arque that in this case it is a bona fide qualification, notwithstanding women reporters in the locker room.
I think yao ming will take some english class in his free time when he arrives....or learned from his teammates
