# The Miami Heat's Yao Ming Promotion: racist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 18, 2002, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684 "2002-12-18T23:27:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/1 "2002-12-18T23:27:22Z")
By now, most people have probably heard of the Miami Heat’s attempted Yao Ming promotion. When the Houston Rockets came to town, they gave away free fortune cookies. A lot of people were offended, and the EHat front office had to apologize. Now, I understand why some people were offended, and I think the promotion was ill-advised. If I’d been in the HEat’s front office, I’d have told them “this is a bad idea. I don’t think it’s inherently racist, but it’s DEFINITELY going to be perceived that way.” - But in GENERAL terms, is it offensive to do an ethnic promotion? Look, EVERYBODY knows that giving out free watermelon in “honor” of a black player would be offensive. So, any PR guy who suggested such a thing would have to be a bigot or a moron (maybe both). On the other hand, almost ANY time a player with an Italian name comes up to bat at Yankee Stadium, the organist starts playing the Tarantella, and nobody minds, least of all the Italians. - The fortune cookie deal, I think, falls somewhere between those two extremes. It’s not harmless, like playing a Tarantella for Yankee manager Joe Torre, but it’s NOT the same as giving out watermelon on Shaq O’Neal Night. Opinions? How bad do you think this particular promotion was? Is it EVER okay to use racial/ethnic promotions? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/2 "2002-12-18T23:52:01Z")
astorian: > [@](#): > > On the other hand, almost ANY time a player with an Italian name comes up to bat at Yankee Stadium, the organist starts playing the Tarantella, and nobody minds, least of all the Italians. My understanding is that the players themselves generally choose their theme music. So if an Italian player tells the organist that he likes the Tarantella, I can’t imagine that playing it is racist. I do think the Heat’s promotion is racially tasteless. However, I think the word “racist” denotes hatred or bigotry toward members of a certain race, and I don’t see such malice evident. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/3 "2002-12-19T00:18:47Z")
I’m not sure what’s negative about fortune cookies. Is it the fact that they aren’t really Chinese? What negative stereotype do the cookies imply about Chinese people? ---
**Author:** ![Feistymongol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Feistymongol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feistymongol)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/4 "2002-12-19T05:12:24Z")
I think people are entirely too sensitive about this. I’m asian and I don’t think this was offensive at all. It’s just a cutesy promotion they thought would emphasize Yao Ming and the asian population coming to see him play. I think the Public relations people need a lesson in what constitutes genuine chinese and americanized chinese. As most people know there’s no such thing as fortune cookies in asian culture. As far as I know fortune cookies have never been associated with any ethnic slurs or offense at least not in the way watermelon’s, picking cotton etc… is for black people. It’s not like they were passing out rice hats and flip flops or something REALLY considered racially offensive. ---
**Author:** ![foolishmortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f1d935/32.png) [@foolishmortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolishmortal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/5 "2002-12-19T05:42:18Z")
FYI: I’m from Oakland (CA) and watermelons don’t represent anything to me. Maybe it’s a southern thing. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/6 "2002-12-19T06:23:12Z")
Unless I _really_ missed something fortune cookies are not a symbol of racist ideals. I can understand a burning cross being thought of as a racist symbol or a Confederate Flag. But a cookie? Some people need to grow up. Slee ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/7 "2002-12-19T09:13:05Z")
We need some new words. Racism is too strong of a word for what happened here. In this case, a word more like prejudice would be better. But that more means favoring, or disfavoring, something in a specific instance. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/8 "2002-12-19T09:17:25Z")
BTW, the fortune cookie is an American invention. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/9 "2002-12-19T09:25:02Z")
Yup, the fortune cookie is an US invention, created by the Chinese restaurants. So no, I can’t see anything racist about it, even though I am ethnic Chinese. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/10 "2002-12-19T13:01:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Feistymongol \* > \*\*It’s not like they were passing out rice hats and flip flops or something REALLY considered racially offensive. \*\* Out of curiosity, why are those considered offensive? ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/11 "2002-12-19T15:04:15Z")
Friend of mine was at a baseball game (KC or St. Louis, forget which) where they had a drawing for box seats. Winner got to leave cheap seats, sit on the first base line. They showed the winners on the jumbroton while playing the theme from the Jeffersons (“Movin’ on up!”) A black family won, was NOT amused. There was an apology. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/12 "2002-12-19T15:38:25Z")
Oh, now I get it. I was wondering what was Chinese about the Houston Rockets and what the recipe for Yao Ming was and… nevermind. > [@](#): > > A black family won, was NOT amused. There was an apology. I trust by that you mean the black family apologized for getting upset. I mean, should playing theme music while awarding a prize be “whites only”? ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/13 "2002-12-19T16:29:01Z")
I wouldn’t call this racism, but instead “stereotyping” - still a sin, but a venal one (for all you recovering Catholics out there). ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/14 "2002-12-19T18:22:57Z")
The UCLA band plays the theme to the Jeffersons after UCLA scores and either goes ahead or increases its lead. But the situation with the black family could have caused some hurt feelings if the people moving didn’t know that the music was played for everybody. If you heard it for the first time, I could understand taking offense. The fortune cookie promotion is just weird since Yao Ming has likely never seen a fortune cookie anywhere except INSIDE the United States. ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/15 "2002-12-19T18:50:25Z")
Did any NHL teams ever have a “Taco Night” in honor of Scott Gomez during his hot rookie year? He was, IIRC, the first Latino pro hockey player (and, ironically, the first from Alaska). ---
**Author:** ![caracal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@caracal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caracal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/16 "2002-12-19T22:34:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sqweels \* > \*\* > > I trust by that you mean the black family apologized for getting upset. I mean, should playing theme music while awarding a prize be “whites only”? \*\* You don’t see that as a bad thing? I don’t think the intent is the issue, I think it is the _image_. Someone clearly lacked some foresight on that one. 30,000 fans listen to the announcement and try to search out who won. I can easily see how uncomfortable that long march to the “expensive seats” can be when the theme music for the whole dog-and-pony show is is “movin’ on up”. A song that as recently been sampled by hip-hop artists and has since become something of an anthem for black upward mobility. I think if you pictured the image in your mind it would be uglier than you think. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/17 "2002-12-19T22:54:31Z")
People overuse the word “racist”. I would say it was shallow. If Yao Ming were a Chinese-American, then it would be worse. But since Yao Ming is a Chinese citizen, perhaps something Chinese would be appropriate in a promotion - like a playing card in Chinese or something less crass than a fortune cookie. The thing that is potentially offesive about the cookies is what the papers say. If they say ordinary things like "Prosperity is within your reach"no big deal. But if they said things like "Confucius say… "; then the line of taste is crossed. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/18 "2002-12-19T23:28:48Z")
I gotta call my friend in the Heat Marketing Dept! ---
**Author:** ![Azael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Azael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azael)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/19 "2002-12-20T01:01:28Z")
It’s only racist if somebody is oversensitive to it. C’mon, get over yourselves people. ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-miami-heats-yao-ming-promotion-racist/143684/20 "2002-12-20T14:51:45Z")
Syracuse basketball games have that same “good seats” contest, and they play the Jeffersons theme song when it gets announced.