In 2002, at the NBA Draft, Stern, then president of the league, read on the stage: The Houston Rockets selected Yao Ming from Shanghai, China, with the first pick in the first round.
In this regard, China's little giant Yao Ming officially landed in the NBA, and he is the only Asian national in history.
In his nine-year NBA career, Yao was named an All-Star eight times, twice for the Best Second Team and three times for the Best Third Team, averaging 19.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and was officially inducted into the N. Smith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
But it is such a superstar who has drawn a lot of color in the history of the NBA, but he was almost beaten by his teammates when he was in his rookie period, and the reason was only because of a "mantra" that Chinese used to say.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > Yao Mingchu arrived in the United States, and the language barrier became a big problem</h1>
Yao Ming did not have any experience in the United States before going to the NBA, and as a professional athlete, he was more focused on basketball training, which also led to the first problem he faced after going to the United States - language communication difficulties.
Originally, I wouldn't say less, but Yao Ming was in the limelight at the time, and he attracted too much attention from the outside world with his back to the Chinese market, and he was a hot person pointed at by the media at any time, so the interviews were one after another.
Although he had a translator with him, every interview was an extremely distressing thing for Yao Ming at that time. After all, the level of translation Chinese is also limited, and when faced with extremely tricky questions from reporters, Yao Ming has to understand what the problems of the translation feedback are, and at the same time, he also has to consider how to answer the questions.
It is precisely because of this headache language barrier and successive interviews that Yao Ming has the experience of almost being beaten later.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="11" > was nervous in the face of the interview, and Yao Ming, who was hanging on the side of the mouth of "inner, inner", was almost beaten by his teammates</h1>
You who are reading the article can first recall whether you or the people around you have such a habit, that is, when communicating with others is in a state of tension, because you do not know how to answer, you habitually chant "inner, inner, inner", but delay in organizing language.
I remember when I was in junior high school, there was a classmate in the class who was particularly nervous when answering questions, and every time he stood up to answer the teacher's questions, "inner one, inner one" had to be said more than a dozen times. (In fact, it is not a mantra, more like a talking habit of some people when they are nervous)
And this habit of speaking also appeared often in the days when Yao Ming first entered the NBA.
It is said that one day after the game, the media still rushed into the Rockets' locker room, and the long guns and short guns began to ask questions and interviews with Yao Ming.
When faced with a tricky problem, Yao Ming is afraid of saying the wrong thing, but he can't help but speak, so he habitually says "inner, inner, inner" in his mouth...
But it was such a word that we sounded fine, and it reached the ears of the black athletes in the Rockets locker room, and it became another meaning.
Yao Ming's teammates are all Americans or other countries, Chinese certainly can't understand, so there is no way to understand what Yao Ming's mouth has been chanting "inner, inner" what it means, anyway, it has become "Nigger, Nigger" in their ears. (harmonic)
The word Nigger is definitely a taboo word for black people, and it is full of insults to black people because it directly means "black gui".
It should be remembered that after the end of the Civil War, black Americans have been committed to obtaining legal rights and sufficient respect, so it is absolutely unacceptable to insult blacks.
And this kind of problem of "racial discrimination" is resolutely not allowed in the highly professional NBA. A few years ago, Clippers owner Stern was directly forced by the league to clear him for "alleged verbally insulting black people" and asked Stern to permanently withdraw from the NBA.
It was precisely because of the existence of this background that Yao Ming's black teammates at the time were extremely dissatisfied, thinking that this big player from China began to "Nigger, Nigger" every time he was interviewed. (They mistakenly believe that Yao Ming always said insulting things to black people during interviews.)
So in the end, several locker room teammates who couldn't stand it began to stand up and walk towards Yao Ming, full of emotions and even wanted to hit people.
Seeing that the signs were not right, Yao Ming's personal translator quickly came forward to inquire, and only then did he know the problem. Subsequently, he also quickly told Yao Ming about the situation, and Yao Ming also apologized to his teammates and explained the true meaning of what he said in his mouth, "inner one" in his mouth.
In many later interviews, Yao Ming began to pay attention to the emergence of similar problems, and with the improvement of English proficiency and the improvement of his adaptability to the NBA, he also became more and more comfortable in the face of the camera, and was even evaluated by the Western media as a "humorous and wise person".
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="27" > conclusion</h1>
The problems caused by this cultural difference are not uncommon, many of which are reflected in language communication, and some are also reflected in eating habits.
For example, when NBA star Wade went to China to participate in an event, he was angry because of a plate of watermelon brought by the organizer.
Because in the nineteenth century, white Americans often used watermelons to insult blacks (as food for black slaves), and there was even a long-standing "slang" that black people loved to eat watermelons.
Therefore, many black Americans are now unable to accept their hosts to entertain themselves with watermelons when they eat and party. (It's not that they never eat, it's just that they can't accept this way of serving with watermelon)