Yao Chose The Olympics Over the Rockets
China Is the Real Dope, Homie
By Khalid Salaam
Say what you will. But this seems kinda suspect to me. Its hard to play on a stress fracture and treatment options include rest (approx. 4-12 weeks, sometimes longer) which would have hurt the Rockets playoff chances. Best case scenario he comes back early to ensure that Houston gets in the playoffs, they lose in the 1st rd anyway and he probably aggravates it and is out for the Olympics. Or he can get surgery now and have a pin inserted into the bone and that will fix it (hopefully) but the healing time takes 6 months to get back to full power. Meaning if he gets that done immediately he makes it back for the Olympics. Granted its pushing things regarding recuperation wise, the games run from August 8th to 24th. So its more like 5 months but so what he comes back early. He won’t be 100 percent but he’s at least able to suit up. For China, thats good enough.
There’s no way the Chinese gov’t can allow the game to take place in Beijing and have their premier athlete NOT play. It’s inconceivable to me that they would allow this to happen. So what he misses the NBA season, he can play next year. Its not like the Rockets were gonna beat the Spurs anyway, so whats the damage. But to miss the Olympics is absurd. You only get to be the host country every 60 years or so. Its a big deal especially for a country like China which is within striking distance of becoming a true superpower. There is too much at stake financially, PR wise and symbollically. They don’t play. Over here in the US we may say we hate our gov’t (and for legitimate reasons oftentimes) but over there its different. The Chinese gov’t doesn’t play and they wield their power with a mighty fist. Go against them and get eliminated. They got rules galore. The gov’t can tell you how many kids you can have for after all. Damn that individual spirit, you do what they say you do. And that includes Yao.
48 Responses to “Yao Chose The Olympics Over the Rockets”
Feb.26 at 4:18 pm
b55 says:
good post, sir
Feb.26 at 4:22 pm
TADOne says:
Conspiracy Theorist’s unite!
Feb.26 at 4:26 pm
Gerard Himself says:
here in The Netherlands there’s a discussion going on where some peope urge the dutch athletes not to go in China, because of the way it works over there, with the working camps, locking people up with no reason, etc. What do people in the U.S. think of that? Are there discussions in your country too?
Feb.26 at 4:28 pm
what says:
Americans don’t know anything about China other than Yao Ming and cheap toys.
Feb.26 at 4:29 pm
albie1kenobi says:
actually, i don’t even think that’s conspiracy theory. i say it’s the truth. conspiracy theory would be something like houston winning the nba lottery that year. remember the Yi-Bucks debacle? if you think Yi was the one creating all that drama, you are kidding yourself.
Feb.26 at 4:32 pm
albie1kenobi says:
Gerard: there was Spielberg refusing to be the artistic director of the olympics. i’ve also read some headline regarding the atheltes bringing their own food. but as for atheletes boycotting the olympics, i haven’t heard anything about that.
Feb.26 at 4:34 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Khalid: racist.
Feb.26 at 4:37 pm
Kevin Wilson says:
Well, China does have a better chance of getting out of the first round.
Feb.26 at 4:38 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Ryan: unpaid comedian
Feb.26 at 4:46 pm
Joel O's says:
Hey guys. I’m ethnically Chinese, grew up in Asia, live in Canada, but speak, write and more importantly, think in English. Here’s my take on things: try not to get caught up in the propaganda that’s being flung about. The media here is making a big fuss about food and manufacturing quality standards in China - but which country just had a record beef recall? Moreover, critics of China right now like to throw the word “Darfur” around… but where are the World’s Police when you need them?
Feb.26 at 4:46 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Well, I know I’m much funnier than the guy you sit next to now. Good sh*t here, especially the implication that if you don’t follow the rules in China, you “get eliminated.” It’d be dope if Yao kept playing this season, had to skip the Olympics, and then got put in front of a firing squad.
I mean, obviously, that would NOT be dope, but you see my point.
Feb.26 at 4:46 pm
Tommy Patron says:
Gerard: The U.S. isn’t going to say sh*t, out of fear that China will start thinking about collecting all the money we owe them.
Feb.26 at 4:50 pm
Joel O's says:
I don’t condone human rights abuses, nor am I happy with the senseless murder that’s going on every day in Iraq by everyone and every side involved in this “war on terror”. What I’m saying is, please, don’t get caught up in the “hype”, the bullsh*t that’s in the North American media these days. Think about what I’m saying - and switch on your favourite news station right now; all that’s on is talk of the presidential race, interspersed with menacing reports of the “evil” communist threats. And look down at your own slate; if it indeed is spotless and clean, then feel free to throw your stones.
Feb.26 at 4:58 pm
Arvydas Sabonis says:
The Rockets weren’t going to win anything anyways. Sorry. Go China!
Feb.26 at 4:58 pm
Vincent Thomas says:
Khalid: I never actually thought of this. This is the smartest thing I believe I’ll read on this Yao coverage. This was heavy.
Feb.26 at 4:59 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Joel i’m not attacking China or taking any moral stand. Just saying that China’s gov’t is not to be trifled with. Do you not agree with that statement? Also, having the Summer Games go smoothly is a huge issue in China, agree?
Feb.26 at 5:03 pm
Joel O's says:
Agreed on both counts. Though regardless of pressure from a strong government, I’m sure anyone would, if a sacrifice were to be made, do the same. Garbajosa made a similar decision this year - chosing his country over the Raps - and unfortunately he’s paying the price now.
Feb.26 at 5:15 pm
Co Co says:
They still have Yi Khalid.
Feb.26 at 5:16 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
and?
Feb.26 at 5:28 pm
Co Co says:
He’s a rising star for them. They don’t need Yao. He’s so 2004.
Feb.26 at 5:45 pm
albie1kenobi says:
china needs yao to get out of group play in olympics.
Feb.26 at 5:56 pm
Bryant Reeves says:
Brilliant
Feb.26 at 6:00 pm
NBA Observer says:
How’s the air quality in Beijing? Centers on the national team are the least of the CCP’s worries. Interesting theory though. Now if there was a way to link it to saving George Karl’s job?
Feb.26 at 6:14 pm
Bryant Reeves says:
On a related note: is Wang ZhiZhi still alive? His NBA player bio simply says: “Given player cannot be found”. I know he’s out of the league, but given his history with the government of China I thought it was apropos
Feb.26 at 6:19 pm
Bryant Reeves says:
Also, from now on refusing to play for your National team should be called “pulling a Wang”
Feb.26 at 6:27 pm
Kevin says:
^ lolol
Feb.26 at 7:04 pm
Captain America says:
Khalid, isn’t there some ancient Chinese proverb that applies here? And how about some Chinese medicine for faster healing results? I hope the SLAM crew has time to help Yao and the Rockets out here.
Feb.26 at 7:33 pm
nick says:
it was the rockets doctors who shut him down, so i wouldn’t drink the kool-aid quite yet
Feb.26 at 7:35 pm
nick says:
I mean, i don’t disbeleive it…but…this post is more “play wit it” then journalism
Feb.26 at 8:12 pm
Z says:
China would like Yao to be able to play for their NT this summer. That’s basically your conspiracy theory, Khalid. As Nick said, the Rockets shut him down. Since we’re talking about China, there’s only so much bs I can take. Everybody is aggreing that China is at fault for what’s happening in Darfur. There’s some truth to that, but what about the Sudanese gov’t that’s killing its own people ? China is not preventing ANYBDOY from taking down the Sudanese gov’t, they’re saying that they don’t want anything to do with it (which is sad, but legitimate). Since when exactly the US or the int’l community (i.e. UN) need China’s blessing to take actions? I mean, the US didn’t need anyone’s permission (UN included) to go into Iraq. Simple answer: there’s nothing to gain (geopolitically or economically) in Sudan. (sorry if I made some grammar mistakes, english is not my native tongue)
Feb.26 at 8:51 pm
Sesa says:
I disagree. If the injuries were discovered prior to the olympic games, Yao will be forced to play and skip the surgeries.
Chinese communism has been well too publicized.
Feb.26 at 9:32 pm
will lee says:
Khalid just think as if you are in China. Your only real star playing NBA is not going to miss the Olympics? Its like your goalkeeper is not allowed to miss the world cup because he’s the only thing the people want to see. Its just what a normal sports fan would expect from your national team, nothing to do with china
Feb.26 at 11:10 pm
RV says:
i agree with nick, and 4-12 weeks of inactivity is the average amount of time required to let it heal, then you’re looking at another 3-4 weeks of rehab increasing the amount of work little by little because too much too soon will re-injure the bone, thats 3 months, plus 3 weeks or so of basketball conditioning= almost 4 months, they gave 4-6 months time table because surgery requires 5- 6 months and they’re not sure which he’ll do….
Feb.26 at 11:16 pm
RV says:
also, as for the reasoning that they don’t want to push him to come back because he’ll aggravate it, they’re not concerned with him missing the Olympics, they’re concerned about it not healing 100% and becoming a chronic issue for the rest of his NBA career, having surgery gives him a better shot at coming back at 100% than leaving it alone
Feb.26 at 11:20 pm
RV says:
one more thing, its common for players to have surgery right away, they never want to waste any time and want to get back ASAP, regardless of where they’re from or if they’re playing in the summer, I agree China wants him there this summer, but i dont agree that he’s looking out for them first
Feb.27 at 1:26 am
Krayzie Bone says:
I don’t think you’d need to tell Yao, Yao is pretty much a loyal nationalist, and would like to do it on his own. THey wouldn’t do much to him for pulling out if he had to, because his profile is too high (the CCP is nothing if not aware of saving face internationally). If Mao was in power and it were 30 years ago, i think Yao would just have defected rather than deal with the problems, but today i don’t think so. As for Gerards point, yes I can fully agree with that boycott idea. If i can get angry at the US for selling weapons to brutal dictators who do predictable things with them (pick a country), then im certainly for embarassing the Chinese in light of the attack helicoptors they sell to the sudanese government. I wish Yao had the strength of Character to stand up and castigate his own governmetn on this, but then, he would face very real sanction at home.
Feb.27 at 5:15 am
Fyan says:
A few things I wish to address. Firstly Yao is not China’s premier athlete, most popular but not premier. I feel that should go to Liu Xiang. Football or soccer as you term it has many instances of club vs country debate and so I seriously doubt that its the Chinese government putting a gun to Yao’s head. He probably feels that it is more important to represent his country in the biggest sporting event his country has hosted so far. And please refrain from making comments about Chinese culture if you have very little experience with it everyone. The fact is, most Chinese people who live in large Chinese communities tend to have communalist tendencies with more importance given to the whole rather than the self. Please do not judge. And I am quite happy I was busy with work and missed out on the soccer debate. I seriously can’t understand how anyone can compare soccer with basketball.
Feb.27 at 5:36 am
will lee says:
many people understand china better than the journalists.
Feb.27 at 10:00 am
TADOne says:
After seeing the Yao press conference, I’m quite sure Khalid is spot on with his assessment.
Feb.27 at 11:31 am
slam fan says:
Kahlid, are you an actual journalist? Your punctuation and grammer is horrific. Is there an editor that actually reviews your work? If so, they should be fired. I love Slam, but guys you have to clean it up a bit.
Feb.27 at 12:00 pm
Ben Osborne says:
Ryan, my humor just doesn’t translate online.
Feb.27 at 4:41 pm
Konate says:
I think Ryan misses his old job, hints the hate on Osborne!
Feb.27 at 5:54 pm
Khalid Salaam says:
Uh, slam fan..you misspelled my name and the word grammar. Nice
Feb.27 at 6:58 pm
Blue says:
Khalid: Slam fan was just talking about Frasier…
Feb.27 at 9:18 pm
RV says:
Tad, I almost, sort of agree on Khalid’s view of how China wants to deal with Yao and his career, but I don’t think he’s correct about everything else. The timing of things are more of a coincidence this time around. Maybe in another situation it would be easier to prove how he’s thinking, but not this one.
Feb.27 at 10:07 pm
tealish says:
Haha China is stricter than most, no doubt. But I am sure Yao’s family wasn’t held hostage to secure this decision to shut down or anything like that… Yao probably looked at the facts like you did and realized what an obvious choice it was. Let’s not make assumptions on subjects you don’t know too much about?
Feb.28 at 2:05 am
chintao says:
Yo, all you loyal Americans, why don’t you stop your government from invading places like Iraq and Afghanistan before you go meddling in China’s business with the Sudan. Just as Iraq was about oil, Darfur is also about oil. Is it wise to hypocritically blast China while your own government creates humanitarian crises in much more direct ways for the exact same reason (i.e. - oil)? This type of discussion always brings me back to things like, “Free Tibet.” Nigg@, please. Free Queens! R.I.P. Sean Bell.
Feb.28 at 12:30 pm
Detroit Murder Dog says:
It’s a fajita for the Rockets. Yao has been hurt the past few years and Half-a-Season is the reigning Chris Webber Disabled List Award winner. Maybe the Rockets want to trade for Larry Hughes and Nene to round out the roster. They need to blow this team up and start over because they cannot win with paper stars.