Shaq and Yao Ming
The Shaq Yao Ming story had the world of NBA burst into laughter after his Hall of Fame induction. He recalled being tricked by the Chinese ballplayer thinking there was a language barrier between them.
Shaq is considered the most dominant player in the history of the NBA. When he was on the court, players feared for the person who was appointed to guard the ‘BEAST’. Yao Ming was examined as the toughest competition that could have been surrounding O’Neal. Shaq revealed a hilarious story of how he had no idea Yao could converse in English. Which is why he never initiates a conversation with him.
“He tricked me. For three years, I never spoke to Yao because I thought there was a language barrier there,” Shaquille O’Neal shared the story while at the podium. “And then one game, he hit me with a Hakeem Olajuwon fadeaway. I said ‘Hey, Yao, nice move!’ and he said ‘Thanks, my brotha!’”
Shaq added, “I said ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, you speak English?’ he’s like ‘Shaq, you’ve never talked to me. Of course, I speak English!” The crowd burst into laughter after Shaq finished his story, even Yao Ming couldn’t control after recalling the incident in his mind.
Yao Ming was welcomed in the NBA as a sensation, a 7-foot-7 giant who could slaughter O’Neal towards his retirement. However, once Shaq thought how funny it would be to poke fun at the Chinese player. The 4-time NBA Champion was highly criticized for saying, “Tell Yao Ming, ‘Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh,’” to a teammate of Yao.
Shaq had to issue a public apology towards both Yao Ming and the Chinese community who found the slur demeaning. Shaquille said he is an “idiot prankster” who did not think about the joke at all before making it. “I said a joke. It was a 70-30 joke. Seventy percent of people thought it was funny, 30 didn’t”
Yao Ming also issued a public statement taking Shaq’s side after he vocalized his belief on O’Neal. Yao said he understands that plenty of community people would not take this joke well but, “I think there are a lot of difficulties in two different cultures understanding each other, especially countries of very large populations, China and the United States.”
More NBA Articles:
Follow our dedicated NBA page for more NBA articles and news updates