Olympics: Spain basketball team pictured in controversial pose

[Liang]

I wonder if the Chinese National Team got wind of this when they played Spain today. If I were Yao I would have given a bunch of them some hard, "accidental" fouls.

[minorTruths]

Unless, it's really hidden as last page news, none of the news outlets have seemed to pick it up. I just checked ESPN, Boston Globe, and CNN. Nothing on tv either. I did find this on yahoo. It will be interesting to see the fall out.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...urn=oly,100152

[nottyboy]

Originally Posted by minorTruths

Unless, it's really hidden as last page news, none of the news outlets have seemed to pick it up. I just checked ESPN, Boston Globe, and CNN. Nothing on tv either. I did find this on yahoo. It will be interesting to see the fall out.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/bei...urn=oly,100152

The only media outlet that I've seen this mentioned at is at TMZ, ironically. Just for the record, I only leave TMZ on while waiting for Malcolm In The Middle.

[nottyboy]

Originally Posted by awong

they love too much of their siestas and lazy life style instead of working which spread over latin america

Hey man, don't hate just 'cause we know how to REALLY relax. I'm not looking for an early heart attack from a crazy work ethic.

[minorTruths]

Originally Posted by nottyboy

The only media outlet that I've seen this mentioned at is at TMZ, ironically. Just for the record, I only leave TMZ on while waiting for Malcolm In The Middle.

Malcolm in The Middle? I enjoy that show as well...but I enjoyed it like 5 years ago. Sorry, you're kinda late.


Not knocking on reruns.

[nottyboy]

Actually, I've been watching it since the beginning. I just don't mind the re-runs.

[minorTruths]

Okay, just found the below article. This is not exactly, but kinda related to my last post in the thread entitled 'Responsibility'.

Jose Calderon, a Spain player, is basically using the argument that they had no racist intent behind their actions, and therefore there shouldn't be any issue and every thing is fine. Ho hum...what's new?

It's unbelievable that it was actually the players' idea do make the gesture instead of the photographers. And obviously it's unbelievable that Spain Basketball Federation was fine with all of it.

http://sports.inquirer.net/breakingn...yed-team-photo

Spanish basketball star defends slit-eyed team photo

Agence France-Presse
Posted date: August 13, 2008

MADRID -- A star member of Spain's Beijing Olympic basketball team, Toronto Raptors guard Jose Calderon, defended Tuesday a controversial advertisement where the entire squad posed while making slit-eyed gestures, saying it was an "affectionate gesture."

"What happened was that during a photo session where the Spanish national team was unveiled, one of our sponsors asked as to pose with a 'wink' to our participation in Beijing and we made an oriental expression with our eyes," he wrote on his Internet site.

"It seemed to us to be something appropriate and that it would always be interpreted as an affectionate gesture. However some European media did not see it as such," he added.

"I want to express that we have great respect for the Orient and its people, some of my best friends in Toronto are of Chinese origin."

In the ad for a Spanish courier company which appeared in sports daily Marca -- which has been widely circulated on the Internet -- the smiling players were standing on center court as they pulled down the skin around their eyes to make them appear slanted. A sketch of a Chinese dragon was drawn across the floor.

Among the members of the team was LA Lakers forward-center Pau Gasol and his brother Marc Gasol, a center with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Britain's Daily Telegraph said: "Spanish sport's poor reputation for insensitivity towards racial issues has been further harmed by the advert."

The Daily Mirror, also of Britain, said the "ad was unlikely to go down well with Olympics hosts China, and could well spoil Spain’s hopes of hosting the Olympic Games in Madrid in 2016 or 2020."

Madrid is one of the four finalist cities to host the 2016 games, facing off against Chicago, Tokyo and Rio De Janiero.

The International Olympic Committee will announce the 2016 host city in October. Spanish sports has been tainted by a series of racist incidents in recent years.

World football governing body FIFA fined the Spanish football federation after fans made monkey chants aimed at England's black football players at a November 2004 friendly international in Madrid.

Last year a handful of Formula One fans targeted British driver Lewis Hamilton during a testing day at Barcelona's Catalunya circuit while four years ago former football national team coach Luis Aragones was caught on tape making a racist remark about French star Thierry Henry.

Earlier Tuesday world champions Spain staged an impressive comeback to beat Olympic hosts China 85-75 in overtime in the men's basketball tournament.

[King4aDay]

...some of my best friends in Toronto are of Chinese origin.

Did he really have to go there?
Exactly how clueless are these guys?


_

[AZN MAN]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008...spainbeatchina

[nottyboy]

I can't for Spain or those guys, but in this particular instance, I don't think they did it out of malice, but out of ignorance. They probably thought it was cute (just like back home they might). It's obviously wrong, though, and they should just learn, and apologize from the heart.

Honestly, in some ways the U.S. is way ahead of the curve when it comes to showing sensitivity.

And, yes, there is some deep rooted racism in Spain. A couple of years ago there were news of Nazi attacks on people from places like the Dominican Republic, etc.

I don't know how much of the population actually hates people of color, but one thing is for sure, they believe they're way superior. In their eyes, if they hadn't come to the Americas, we'd all still be "wearing banana leaves instead of clothes" (according to one guy on the net).