By Michael A. Lutz | The Associated Press
The president of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) demanded Friday that Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O’Neal offer a more serious apology for derogatory remarks he made about Houston Rockets rookie Yao Ming.
Raymond Wong of Houston spoke outside Compaq Center prior to Friday night’s game between the Lakers and Rockets that matched O’Neal and the 7'5" Chinese center for the first time.
O’Neal has apologized, saying his comments were a joke.
“We didn’t take it as a joke,” Wong said. “It was more of an excuse because other people do it and it’s OK. Well, it’s not OK. He doesn’t just represent himself. He represents the NBA and he represents his community.”
Following the game, O’Neal reiterated that he’d said he was sorry.
“I’ve already apologized,” O’Neal said. “Yao Ming is my brother. The Asian people are my brothers. It was unfortunate that one idiot writer tried to start a racial war over that.
“I grew up an Army kid. I grew up around Asians, around whites, around browns. It was a bad joke. Don’t try to make a racial war out of it,” he said. “Because of what I said, 500 million people saw this game. You ought to thank me for my marketing skills.”
Several fans carried placards protesting O’Neal, but Wong said his organization only wanted to make a statement.
Wong said his group had sent a letter to NBA commissioner David Stern asking the league to encourage O’Neal to issue a sincere, unqualified apology to Yao and to all Americans for his rhetoric.
A columnist for AsianWeek complained that O’Neal made several derogatory comments about Yao, with the Lakers’ center saying, “Tell Yao Ming, ‘ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.’” (“APA Community Should Tell Shaq ‘Come Down to Chinatown,’” Jan. 2).
Tim Andree, NBA senior vice president of communications, issued a statement late Friday regarding O’Neal’s comments.
“As commissioner Stern had already stated in an interview with the Arizona Republic on Jan. 12, the NBA has reviewed Shaquille O’Neal’s comments and has found them to be insensitive, although not intentionally mean spirited,” Andree said.
Wong’s organization also wants the NBA to issue a statement denouncing race-based taunts by all NBA personnel and to require diversity awareness seminars for all NBA personnel, including players and coaching staffs.
Yao has not joined the protest, choosing instead to accept O’Neal’s comments as a joke.
“He may not be as sensitized because where he comes from, people don’t make fun of Chinese or Asian people,” Wong said. “I grew up in the South, so I know how sensitive Asian people are. They’d rather go ahead and let it go and live with it and say it’s OK. But there comes a time when it's not OK.”
Charlene Tsang-Kao, president of the Greater Houston chapter of the OCA, said she understood Yao’s position.
“We do not blame Yao Ming,” Tsang-Kao said. “He has shown wonderful grace the way he has responded. Yao is new to our country. We as Asian Americans were born here and live here and have felt the impact of statements by Shaquille O’Neal.”
“We’ve heard it on the playgrounds, we’ve heard it in all walks of life. I don’t think he (Yao) should have done anything different. But as Asian Americans we should speak out.”
Wong said if O’Neal doesn’t offer an acceptable apology, the OCA will take further action.
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