We Deserve a Real Apology for Shaq's "ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh" taunt.

January 14, 2003

Commissioner David J. Stern
The National Basketball Association
Olympic Tower, 656 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Dear Commissioner Stern:

We are writing this letter in response to the racially insensitive comments made by Shaquille ONeal, center for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. On June 28, 2002, Mr. ONeal made the following comments, Tell Yao Ming, ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh and the comments were replayed several times on Fox Sports Radios Tony Bruno Morning Extravaganza on December 16 and 17, 2002. For the following reasons, OCA looks to the NBAs leadership to: (1) encourage Mr. ONeal to reexamine his statements and issue a sincere, unqualified apology to Mr. Yao and all Americans for his racist rhetoric; (2) issue a statement denouncing race-based taunts by all NBA personnel; and (3) require diversity awareness seminars for all NBA personnel, including its players and coaching staff.

A sincere, unqualified apology from Mr. ONeal is overdue. On January 10, 2003, when Mr. ONeal was confronted about the racial insensitivity of his comments, he responded with the following, "I said it jokingly, so this guy was just trying to stir something up that's not there. He's just somebody who doesn't have a sense of humor, like I do. Mr. ONeals purported apology is nothing more than a misguided attempt to diffuse the publics outrage over his remarks and a hollow excuse to justify his prior racist statement.

If indeed Mr. ONeals statement was meant to be a non-racial attempt at humor, his joke could be directed toward any NBA player while achieving the same humorous effect. For example, Tell Dirk Nowitzki, ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh, or Tell Pau Gasol, ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh, or even Tell Dikembe Mutombo, ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh. The fact of the matter is those comments would not be allegedly humorous if Mr. ONeals comments were directed at any of the aforementioned foreign-born NBA players, or at any US-born NBA player. Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh is Mr. ONeals interpretation of the Chinese language and since Dirk Nowitski, Pau Gasol, and Dikembe Mutombo are not Chinese, but in fact West German, Spanish, and Zairian, the comments are in fact race-based. You will recall that Fuzzy Zoeller, PGA tour player, immediately apologized, without qualification, for his racially insensitive remarks toward 1997 Masters Champion Tiger Woods. The Asian American community looks to the NBAs leadership to encourage Mr. ONeal to do the same, and to sincerely apologize to not only Yao Ming, but also to the 11.9 million Asian Americans, many of whom revere Mr. ONeal as a role model and are in fact die hard SHAQ fans.

In addition to a sincere apology from Mr. ONeal, we seek the NBAs leadership and ask that it issue a statement denouncing race-based taunts by all NBA personnel and to immediately initiate a diversity seminar for all of its employees. Mr. ONeal states that he is not the first nor the only person (presumably he is referring to other NBA players) to have made those same remarks. I mean, if I was the first one to do it, and the only one to do it, I could see what they're talking about. But if I offended anybody, I apologize. Given the recent racial incidences involving former Sacremento Kings and current Memphis Grizzlies point guard Jason Williams (February 28, 2001) and former Denver Nuggets head coach Dan Issel (December 11, 2001), it would be very beneficial for the NBA to require all of its players and coaches to attend diversity awareness seminars. Diversity training is particularly timely and would be particularly beneficial towards the NBAs long-term goals given its vision of becoming a global sport with professional teams in every nation of the world.

We believe that the NBA should show greater sensitivity towards this matter and we hope that the NBA will act immediately to resolve this problem.