Posted on 01/10/2003 1:27:18 PM PST by ewing
Shaq O'Neal may be one of the most well liked figures in the National Basketball Association, but his recent verbal attacks on Houston Rockets 7 foot 6 inch big man Yao Ming from China are starting to raise troubling questions-is Shaq indeed racist?
Some feel Shaq's comments in his escalating war of words with Yao have crossed the line from trash talk to racial slurs.
Asian Week columnist Irwin Tang recently 'called out' O' Neal in public for several racially derogatory comments thrown in Yao's direction.
Tell Yao Ming, 'ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh,' O Neal said to a reporter recently in a mock Chinese accent.
When asked this summer how he would greet Yao Ming to the NBA, [who is a rookie this year from the Republic of China] Shaq said he would let his elbows do the talking.
'Street ball,' O'Neal commented on what would be awaiting Yao Ming in the National Basketball Association.
'Playing in the gym, shooting jumpers and all that...that's fine-But I am street.
It is about how to take a blow to the nose and make you think about what I am going to do next time down the court.'
(Excerpt) Read more at insider.espn.go.com ...
Kind of like how my father still reminisces about the golden days of baseball in NYC, when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Yankees were battling it out just about every year. :)
The NBA has a lot of players who aren't American.
Yao Ming has more votes than Shaq for the all-star game. Shaq isn't accustomed to playing second fiddle.
I enjoy some contact in Basketball.
They still miss jumpers when they think they're gonna get bumped.
In the "glory days" it was common to score 100 points in a game..even the losing team....now days that a major accomplishment...i really dont think its because of the awesome defenses....IMHO!
Shaq is well liked??? By who? Thugs like him? This guy has trash talked David Robinson every freakin time he comes to town and he graduated from here, and we are all tired of his mouth and whining on the court. David is a better man than anyone, he does a great job of ignoring the SOB.
Wow! Simply because you are half black and half white (gasp), you know more about racism than me. This statement is monumental. Could you please tell me which race gives you superior insight on racism?
"Personally I oppose racial college admissions, police and fire department hiring and promotion policies, governmental programs (ie affirmitive action policies) because they provide very little real benefit to a small percentage of African American's, and because they provide a huge target for disillusioned white men (a small percentage of which who are racist) to whine and cry reverse racism."
Translation: Institutionalized racism geared to the better half of me would only work if the racism would give me a giant advantage. It isn't working too well now, and Whitey is unjustly upset, so I am now against it.
"I oppose The Black Congressional Caucus, Black Student Unions/groups/clubs sanctioned by colleges, because they support they are primarily extensions of the Democratic party, and their message is tired and irrelavent."
Translation: Segregation is ok if two or more parties are involved.
"Despite all of the racial double standards the black people "enjoy", I still think that you would (if you ever got of your high horse and came back down to reality, which I doubt) agree, along with the 99% of Americans both white and black, that it is a much better thing to be white in the US then to be black."
How is it much better to be white than black in America? Please explain!
I'm most worried about what my son may have to face. The Supreme Court currently has at least 4 out of 5 judges that are willing to legalize racial preferrence. They are currently considering a case from the University of Michigan (I think) in which two white students were denyed addmission to Grad school because they were white. The Hopwood decision originated here at the University of Texas in Austin. At UT, judging whitey by the color of his skin and not the content of his character is perfectly OK.
My son may have to enter this hostility if something is not done to stop it. Pointing out racial double standards is a great start, but not nearly enough.
Other than the Mets, we don't really root for any NY teams. Around 25 years or so ago, he became interested in the Miami Dolphins (pre-Marino) and that's the way it's been for us ever since. We used to be hardcore into the Knicks, but lost interest a couple of years ago when it became known that a couple of them (Wart and Houston) are Jew-haters. And we were never really hockey fans.
But, to tell the truth, since I left the sportswriting field a few years ago, I haven't followed sports nearly as much as I used to follow them. I'll still watch games and keep up with the news, but the passion isn't there anymore.
That sweep was awesome.
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