Spanish mens basketball team in hot water over photo

[Russ Smith]

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/be...-team-poses-for-offensive-pict?urn=oly,100152

Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008 9:23 am EDT

Spanish basketball team poses for offensive picture
By Chris Chase
Updated: 4:43 p.m. EDT

Spain's Olympic basketball team posed for an advertisement prior to the Games which appears to show all its players slanting their eyes, a move that could offend its Olympic hosts in Beijing. The ads, for a Spanish courier company, appeared in the Spanish-language newspaper La Marca.



As the uproar over the picture has grown today, more information about the advertising shot has come to light. The New York Times reports that Spain's basketball team is sponsored by Li-Ning Footwear, a Chinese company founded by Li Ning, the final torchbearer who was hoisted along the top of Beijing National Stadium during the Olympic Opening Ceremony finale. The ad reportedly references the Spanish team recently extending their contract with the footwear giant for another four years.

The Spanish-language paper El Mundo has a piece debating whether the ad was racist that basically calls out the British press for trying to smear Spain's good name. But they miss the point. Whether the picture was made in good fun is irrelevant. It was a ridiculous idea that was bound to upset a lot of people.

It's baffling that nobody involved in the picture -- from the photographers to the players -- even seemed to consider that this ad would be looked at negatively. Did it not occur to somebody that it might not be a good idea to mock an entire continent before the world's largest athletic competition that, by the way, happens to take place on that continent. Were they not aware of an invention called "the Internet" that allows pictures taken in Spain to be transmitted all over the world for the eyes of everyone?
And now that the inevitable controversy has hit, they're still defending themselves when a simple, "the ad was in poor taste, we apologize" would have sufficed. This story would be slowing down if the Spanish Basketball team had apologized immediately. Now it's just picking up steam.

The Organization of Chinese-Americans has released multiple statements condemning the picture. George Wu, deputy director of the group, said, "it is unfortunate that this type of imagery would rear its head during something that is supposed to be a time of world unity." Response in Beijing has been muted so far.

Madrid is thought to be one of the frontrunners to land the 2016 Summer Games (the site will be announced next year). Could this controversy hurt Spain's chances of landing another Olympics?

Interestingly, the Spanish basketball team took on China tonight, winning 85-75 in overtime. No word on whether Pau Gasol was on the receiving end of any elbows from Yao Ming. The Chinese crowd did have a message for the Spainards though, booing vigorously during the game.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Idiots.

 

[Dback Jon]

What was the grade school rhyme - chinese, japanese...

 

[Russ Smith]

Idiots.

You gotta wonder how that many people could get together and NOT think this is a bad idea?

I guess it could help the US when we play Spain since it's pretty clear the largely Chinese audience is going to be rooting against Spain now.

 

[D-Dogg]

Hmm, the Li-Ning company asked them to do it, and China doesn't seem to care.

Perhaps the rest of the world isn't as panties in a bunch as us Westerners (UK included).

Not that it's a good idea, but why do I feel like we are busy getting offended on behalf of somebody who is not offended? The Chinese-Americans group should be busting the balls of the Li-Ning company braniac who came up with the ad concept.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Hmm, the Li-Ning company asked them to do it, and China doesn't seem to care.

Perhaps the rest of the world isn't as panties in a bunch as us Westerners (UK included).

Not that it's a good idea, but why do I feel like we are busy getting offended on behalf of somebody who is not offended? The Chinese-Americans group should be busting the balls of the Li-Ning company braniac who came up with the ad concept.

The crowd booed the Spanish team, though.

 

[D-Dogg]

The crowd booed the Spanish team, though.

Well of course. We all love a good reason to boo.

 

[Russ Smith]

Hmm, the Li-Ning company asked them to do it, and China doesn't seem to care.

Perhaps the rest of the world isn't as panties in a bunch as us Westerners (UK included).

Not that it's a good idea, but why do I feel like we are busy getting offended on behalf of somebody who is not offended? The Chinese-Americans group should be busting the balls of the Li-Ning company braniac who came up with the ad concept.

Well I would point out that I posted this after a Chinese guy at work was telling several of us about this story and how he thought it was amazing in this day and age that the Spanish team could be that stupid.

I googled it, found the story(ironically on Yahoo) and posted it.

So there are some Chinese people that are clearly offended by it.

I just thought it was interesting that so many people could participate I guess it's proof of the old Black Sabbath song, if you listen to fools, the mob rules. Get a bunch of people together and the odds of someone speaking up and saying this is inappropriate, go way down.

 

[Mulli]

Hmm, the Li-Ning company asked them to do it, and China doesn't seem to care.

Perhaps the rest of the world isn't as panties in a bunch as us Westerners (UK included).

Not that it's a good idea, but why do I feel like we are busy getting offended on behalf of somebody who is not offended? The Chinese-Americans group should be busting the balls of the Li-Ning company braniac who came up with the ad concept.

yup who cares

 

[Russ Smith]

Li Ning didn't ask for it a Spanish courier company did. Li Ning is another sponsor of the team but not this pic.

Yahoo article with the Spanish response including Pau Gasol. Here's the first part of the article. If nothing else it sparks debate.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/basketball/news?slug=ro-spain081308&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

BEIJING – Pau Gasol sat courtside with his feet dunked in a bucket of ice as the irony of ironies unfolded around him.

The Los Angeles Lakers center had just finished training Wednesday at the Beijing Language and Culture University, where students from around the world gather to learn Mandarin and promote international understanding.

Four days into the most global of events, and surrounded by buildings which foster social harmony across all colors and creeds, Gasol had to apologize for the actions of a Spanish men’s basketball team that made Asian “slant eyes” at the camera for a sponsor’s advertisement and thinks it’s OK.

Around him, his teammates and coaches reacted to the criticism homing in on them from around the world with a mixture of embarrassment, confusion and some mild defiance. The ad in question was for a Spanish courier company, Seur, but the Spanish team also counts the athletic shoe and apparel company owned by Li Ning – the former Chinese Olympian who lit the torch at this summer’s Games – among its sponsors.

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Jose Calderon of the Toronto Raptors has spent the last three years in North America, but he didn’t get it. He could still not understand how an action with such deep racial undertones had generated so much attention. In his mind a non-story became a story only when it was blown out of proportion by journalists with a mind for mischief.

“We did it because we thought it was going to be something nice, something with no problem,” Calderon told Yahoo! Sports. “But somebody wants to talk about it. It is too much of a big deal with you guys (the media) and everybody talking about that.”

Head coach Aíto García Reneses didn’t get it, either. Reneses comes from an older generation of Spanish society, one which has little time for the politically correct niceties of the modern world.

“If I go to play with a taller team and I put here (raising up on the tips of his toes) it is not an offense,” Reneses said. “I can’t understand anything more.”

But Gasol got it. He didn’t get it when the Spanish courier company persuaded the players to pose with their index fingers stretching their eyes to a thin slit at a team media day, but he sure as heck gets it now.

“Some of us didn’t feel comfortable doing it just because to me it was a little clownish for our part to be doing that,” Gasol said. “But the sponsors insisted and insisted. I think it is just a bad idea I guess to do that, but it was never intended to be offensive or racist against anybody.


“I didn’t find it very funny. I didn’t find it offensive, either. I guess some guys didn’t mind. To me I don’t want to be that way, I guess, to be doing that stuff.


“If anybody feels offended by it we totally apologize for it. We never meant anything offensive by it.”

The advertisement has regularly run as a full page in Spanish sports daily Marca soon after the picture was taken on July 1. However, it only came to prominence after it reached the attention of the Guardian newspaper in London this week.

 

[D-Dogg]

Well I would point out that I posted this after a Chinese guy at work was telling several of us about this story and how he thought it was amazing in this day and age that the Spanish team could be that stupid.

I googled it, found the story(ironically on Yahoo) and posted it.

So there are some Chinese people that are clearly offended by it.

I just thought it was interesting that so many people could participate I guess it's proof of the old Black Sabbath song, if you listen to fools, the mob rules. Get a bunch of people together and the odds of someone speaking up and saying this is inappropriate, go way down.

Your friend is likely a Chinese American, as is the group mentioned in the article. Americans are conditioned to be offended. It's our culture to be offended at anything and everything possible. I wonder how offended the average Chinese (not American chinese) person would be, or if they even care.

Now, don't get me wrong...it is offensive. But the target of the ire should be at the Chinese shoe company and their ad person who had the idea, had it approved and shot the ad. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at your own people who thought it was a good idea. The spanish team is stupid for going along with it, but likely any protest would have been met with a "naw, don't worry...it will be funny and nobody will be offended" response and after all is said and done, the Chinese company thought it was just fine to release with their approval.

It's fine to exercise your right to be offended (not you Russ, the collective you of humanity) but the real target, IMO, should be the company. Too often these corporate sanctioned bad ideas end up with the fallout landing on third parties, not the guys who said "you know what would be cool??..."

 

[Russ Smith]

Your friend is likely a Chinese American, as is the group mentioned in the article. Americans are conditioned to be offended. It's our culture to be offended at anything and everything possible. I wonder how offended the average Chinese (not American chinese) person would be, or if they even care.

Now, don't get me wrong...it is offensive. But the target of the ire should be at the Chinese shoe company and their ad person who had the idea, had it approved and shot the ad. If you want to get mad at someone, get mad at your own people who thought it was a good idea. The spanish team is stupid for going along with it, but likely any protest would have been met with a "naw, don't worry...it will be funny and nobody will be offended" response and after all is said and done, the Chinese company thought it was just fine to release with their approval.

It's fine to exercise your right to be offended (not you Russ, the collective you of humanity) but the real target, IMO, should be the company. Too often these corporate sanctioned bad ideas end up with the fallout landing on third parties, not the guys who said "you know what would be cool??..."

he was born in China but has lived here about 6 years so I guess he's somewhat Americanized.

I agree the courier company should be getting the flack here which is why I'm glad Gasol said what he said. he made it pretty clear that some of the players weren't willing to do that but the sponsor insisted.

if they're going to run an ad like that they should get the full brunt of it when there's a backlash like this.

 

[D-Dogg]

That's interesting that Li Ning didn't even approve this. Wow. A spanish courier company? There's a big difference of stupidity factors when you are making fun of someone else vs making fun of your own.

Ok, offended Americans...fire away at the Courier company. Still, point remains that we are hyper-PC over here, and apparantly in Spain they don't even know what PC is (clearly from the quotes in the article). Another interesting question...which is better? PC-crazed or PC-ignorant? I don't know if there is really a middle ground.

 

[Gee!]

So the lakers now have a rapist and a racist on the their team.. brilliant!

 

[Russ Smith]

That's interesting that Li Ning didn't even approve this. Wow. A spanish courier company? There's a big difference of stupidity factors when you are making fun of someone else vs making fun of your own.

Ok, offended Americans...fire away at the Courier company. Still, point remains that we are hyper-PC over here, and apparantly in Spain they don't even know what PC is (clearly from the quotes in the article). Another interesting question...which is better? PC-crazed or PC-ignorant? I don't know if there is really a middle ground.

You're clearly biased against overly PC things.

 

[D-Dogg]

You're clearly biased against overly PC things.

I'm offended by that remark.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

What was the grade school rhyme - chinese, japanese...

...diry knees... look at these!

 

[Mulli]

what about the one where my mother is chinese, my father is japanese, and I look like this?

That wa turrible.