BEIJING — Is Chinese basketball star Yao Ming acting like an ugly American?
That's what many of Yao's countrymen are wondering after the NBA All-Star demonstrated what was seen here as bad-boy behavior this week when the Chinese national basketball team stumbled during Olympic competition in Athens.
With his team getting routed, 83-58, by Spain on Sunday, the normally even-tempered Houston Rocket center yelled at his Olympic teammates, and even at Coach Del Harris, during a fourth-quarter timeout. In the locker room afterward, he reportedly chided his teammates and then told reporters that he had "lost much of my confidence" in the squad.
"I don't think some of my teammates cherish the honor to play for the country at the Olympic Games," he said, adding that he was thinking about retiring from a "hopeless" Chinese national team.
The outburst stunned fans and sports officials in a society that continues to uphold the Confucian values of respect for elders and working together as a group. Within hours, local newspapers said, the headquarters of the Chinese delegation to Athens issued a statement declaring that such "irresponsible talk and split-the-team behavior" would not be tolerated in the future.
Newspapers also quoted Chinese Basketball Assn. officials as wondering whether Yao had become Americanized during his two NBA seasons. They also worried whether more caution should be exercised before sending young, impressionable players to the trash-talking league.
"This is definitely making people rub their eyes a bit and say, 'Wow, is this our Yao Ming who is so emotional?' " said Terry Rhoads, a former Nike marketing executive who discovered Yao when he was playing for the Shanghai Sharks.
Rhoads, who runs a Shanghai-based sports marketing firm that helps the NBA promote Yao in China, said the star's display of frustration countered the widely held idea of "saving face," one of the cultural pillars of Chinese society.
"It extends into the sports world," he said. "The system says make sure that you don't embarrass your coach, your teammates and yourself.
"But Yao belongs to the world now," he added. "He's a global citizen. When he has these outbursts, I believe the outbursts are coming from his passion for success and excellence."
Yao has since apologized, and Harris, a veteran NBA coach hired by China to lead the national team, has declared the matter over. But that hasn't put the controversy to rest. After China defeated New Zealand, it took another pasting from Argentina on Thursday and Yao was openly glum as he rested on the bench.
