from washingtonpost.com "......while he realizes that interest has risen since comments O'Neal made in a fake Chinese accent became public last week -- O'Neal has since apologized, and Yao has played down the incident -- he is genuinely excited about the matchup in basketball terms, his physical safety notwithstanding." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3120-2003Jan16.html heres the link
it was a pretty lame apology. Shaquille O'Neal can't get away with this. He can't shrug it off with his typically impish, "Gee, I was only kidding." A radio show recently aired audio of a television interview in which O'Neal made comments about Yao Ming, Houston Rockets rookie center, that were every bit as racist and stupid and ignorant as anything ever uttered by Trent Lott or John Rocker. Talking about Yao, something Shaq often does with derision, O'Neal said, "Tell Yao Ming, 'ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.' " O'Neal thinks he's a 21st century Renaissance man. He isn't. He's tried to be a rap star. He isn't. He's tried to be a movie star. He isn't. He's tried to be a comedian. He's not funny. This week, Shaq thought he was apologizing. He wasn't. Instead he mocked a columnist for AsianWeek, who had the audacity to criticize O'Neal for those remarks. "I said it jokingly," O'Neal said, his apology sounding suspiciously Lott-like, "so this guy was just trying to stir something up that's not there. He's just somebody who doesn't have a sense of humor, like I do." But this wasn't funny. This was racist and O'Neal was implying, as Lott did, that if the audience isn't laughing at him, it's because they lack a sense of humor. He's saying, "Mocking Chinese people is funny. Don't you get it?" His comments are toxic and he doesn't realize it. Yao, a bright young man and a rising star, has heard similar comments in practically every arena in the league. The first time I saw Yao in Portland, a group of fans in back of me was yelling the same kinds of things at him. People around those fans were laughing. They didn't get it either. "I mean if I was the first one to do it and the only one to do it, I could see what they're talking about," O'Neal said. That makes it OK? It's as if O'Neal is saying that anybody who was offended by his remarks either is too sensitive, too shrill, or too stiff. He's blaming the listener for his ignorance. According to Shaq Daddy, it isn't racist if he wasn't the first to say it, and since he's not the only one, then what's the big deal? Hey, he wasn't trying to be original, so why all the fuss? This is another example, like Rocker's three years ago, where the apology is every bit as offensive as the original remark. O'Neal is excusing every racist remark ever made by anybody to any group, because it's been said before. "If I offended anybody, I apologize," O'Neal said. In other words, if you're that weak that you can't take a joke, then, well, O'Neal feels sorry for you. I believe O'Neal is threatened by Yao. Earlier this season, when he still was recuperating from surgery, O'Neal was asked if he would be ready for the Lakers' first game against Yao. "Who?" he said with a snicker. Fear or apprehension is the trigger for most racist remarks. Maybe mocking Yao is O'Neal's way of dealing with him. After he strafed just about every minority in the infamous Sports Illustrated article, Rocker unsuccessfully tried to apologize. To this day, I don't think he realizes what he did and doesn't understand why so many people were so mad. Rocker was suspended after the article. I don't think O'Neal should be suspended if he makes a more serious attempt at an apology. He needs to know he offended more than one "over-sensitive" Asian columnist. He needs to be educated. O'Neal needs to show some remorse. He must admit his remarks were wrong. He needs to promise he'll do better, that he'll think more about the consequences of such flip comments. He needs to make some gesture to Los Angeles' Chinese-American community that is real and not forced. I've always liked O'Neal and I sympathize with how difficult this season, recovering from his surgery, has been. I don't think his image should be forever tarnished, but it's up to him to repair it. There's nothing wrong with saying, "I was wrong." Shaquille O'Neal was wrong and shouldn't be allowed to get away with his Lott-like, non-apology apology. Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com.
