Olympics BBall controversy

[Yojimbo]

Have any of you heard of this? http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...urn=oly,100152 http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...yhoo&type=lgns Just wondering what your thoughts are on this.

[Mike70]

that is pretty ridiculous and not very classy. jason kidd is dead on about the double standard. if those were americans, this would talked about endlessly by every pundit on every single station and the NBA would be rolling heads. wow, europeans are so much more cultured than we are in north america, aren't they.

[Yojimbo]

I am thinking that the sponsor of that photo may have done this knowing that it would be controversial resulting in a wider interest in the company. From a marketing standpoint, maybe the sponsor thought that this would work out. You cannot tell me that they did this without knowing that folks would find it offensive and would become irate. This must have been a shrewd and calculated move, though one with a high potential of backfiring. if those were americans, this would talked about endlessly by every pundit on every single station and the NBA would be rolling heads. As Americans who tout ourselves as a melting pot and therefore assumed by experience to have a greater tolerance for minorities (actually not true, since I think that historically France has been much more minority tolerant than were or are), we are supposed to know better and as such our own stateside community would not tolerate something like this without having a major cow. But I am surprised of the lack of coverage for this. I heard more about the lip-syncing little girl at the opening ceremonies than this issue!

[Bub666]

that is pretty ridiculous and not very classy. jason kidd is dead on about the double standard. if those were americans, this would talked about endlessly by every pundit on every single station and the NBA would be rolling heads. wow, europeans are so much more cultured than we are in north america, aren't they. I agree.

[SRP76]

Nope, haven't heard anything about this, and don't really care. Two weeks after the Olypmics end, nobody's going to remember the Spanish basketball team ever existed. So there's no reason to get too worked up about them.

[Publius]

Just wondering what your thoughts are on this. Personally, I think people should try being less thin-skinned. The easiest way to interpret the photo is that they were good-naturedly, if naively, trying to show solidarity with the people hosting them.

[AcesandEights]

The easiest way to interpret the photo is that they were good-naturedly, if naively, trying to show solidarity with the people hosting them. There is no way I buy that one. It was foolish, disrespectful and horribly shortsighted. A big deal? Not really, but utterly asinine.

[Yojimbo]

There is no way I buy that one. It was foolish, disrespectful and horribly shortsighted. A big deal? Not really, but utterly asinine. I tend to agree. There was a time that this sort of stuff would have provoked an immediate violent reaction, but now I look at their actions as really disrespectful and stupid. Their attempts to defend their actions merely exacerbate this situation - they should have immediately apologized instead of making lame excuses. Really, it makes the Spanish team look like buffoons, and the media company that came up with this comes off as really out of touch.

[Bub666]

There is no way I buy that one. It was foolish, disrespectful and horribly shortsighted. A big deal? Not really, but utterly asinine. I agree.

[darth los]

that is pretty ridiculous and not very classy. jason kidd is dead on about the double standard. if those were americans, this would talked about endlessly by every pundit on every single station and the NBA would be rolling heads. wow, europeans are so much more cultured than we are in north america, aren't they. Well, if anything less P.C. While i agree that americans are uptight as a society About certain things (sex) I don't think that this should be cavalierly dismissed. That being said, it's not the end of the world. Unfortunately, it's not against the law to be an insensitive a-hole. But I am surprised of the lack of coverage for this. I heard more about the lip-syncing little girl at the opening ceremonies than this issue! Which goes a long way in illustrating what most americans are truly interested in: frivilous garbage.

[Dillinger]

What's the big deal? They made squinty eyes. There isn't an American one that didn't make that same gesture while playing "Chinese, Japanese, American knees." when they were a kid. Some things just aren't an issue.

[darth los]

What's the big deal? They made squinty eyes. There isn't an American one that didn't make that same gesture while playing "Chinese, Japanese, American knees." when they were a kid. Some things just aren't an issue. Exactly. When we were kids. Big difference. I can't wait for their "blackface" pose. (sarcasm)

[clanglee]

At least they didn't have a caption beneath it saying "Ahhhh Sooooo" It's a pretty big tool move, that's for sure. But yeah. . here in the U.S. it would of course have made big waves. Be careful what you say or the Spanish king might tell you "Por Que no te callas?"

[Yojimbo]

What's the big deal? They made squinty eyes. There isn't an American one that didn't make that same gesture while playing "Chinese, Japanese, American knees." when they were a kid. Some things just aren't an issue. Dillinger, you are right that it is the same gesture that kids made to me when doing that chant, a few seconds before my fist would smash their ignorant face. While I am no longer as reactive as I was in my youth, I still am offended when someone makes fun of me based on my ethnicity, just as I take offense if I see someone in blackface, or hear someone utter an ethnic slur. I understand that it is difficult for someone who is not a miniority on the receiving end of racist rhetoric and who did not have relatives that had to suffer unfair treatment by the majority and the govenment becasue they were enthnically different to understand why a minority group would find something like the "Chinese, Japanese" chant, or being called a "Nip" or a "Nigger" or a "Kike" intolerably offensive. So in this regard I realize that it is no big deal to you. This isn't to say that the Spanish basketball team meant to offend asians with this silliness, which I do not believe was their motive. Like you, they do not understand why this is a big deal to anyone, and like you they are perplexed as to why anyone is offended. However, I do feel that they have shown themselves to be extremely insensitive and ignorant. I am also saying that their pathetic excuses for their actions and their half-hearted apologies only exacerbate the situation, and certainly do not make them seem any less insensitive and ignorant.

[RustyHicks]

There is no way I buy that one. It was foolish, disrespectful and horribly shortsighted. A big deal? Not really, but utterly asinine. Couldn't have said it better myself