Letters by OCA National President, Raymond Wong
1) Letter to Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal
Los Angeles Lakers
555 N. Nash Street
El Segundo, CA 90245
January 10, 2003
Dear Mr. O’Neal:
I am writing you in response to the complaints we have received from listeners of Fox Sports Radio’s Tony Bruno Morning Extravaganza, in which Bruno rebroadcast your racist taunts regarding Houston Rockets team member Yao Ming. I represent the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), a national Asian Pacific American (APA) civil rights and education group with over 80 chapters and affiliates nationwide, many of whom are fans of both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets.
On the show, you threatened Yao Ming with mock-Chinese gibberish, clearly intended to taunt not only Ming but any American of Asian descent. However, this was not an isolated incident. On June 28 of last year, on Fox Television’s Best Damn Sports Show Period, you again made mockery of the fact that Yao Ming is Asian, in your use of a fake Chinese accent and supposed kung-fu moves. You even combined these verbal comments with a threat to Yao Ming’s physical harm, announcing that you would like to take an elbow to Yao’s face.
Your remarks show extreme ignorance and lack of concern over our nation’s cultural diversity and how far we have all had to come to overcome dangerous stereotypes. Not only are these anti-Asian sentiments extremely offensive to the growing Asian Pacific American community, but they may incite anti-Asian sentiment that readily leads to racial violence. Chinese and Asian Pacific Americans make up over 11 percent of California’s population, many of which are concentrated in the Los Angeles area. We doubt that you would want to further alienate this growing population by future offensive antics.
Next time, you must think twice about making such comments again. As a celebrity, you need to take responsibility for your statements to the general public and your many fans.
Sincerely,
Raymond Wong
OCA National President