Spain’s Olympic basketball team poses for questionable photo
Spain’s Olympic basketball team posed for an advertisement prior to the Games which appears to show all its players slanting their eyes, a move that could offend its Olympic hosts in Beijing. The ads, for a Spanish courier company, appeared in the Spanish-language newspaper La Marca.
As the uproar over the picture has grown today, more information about the advertising shot has come to light. The New York Times reports that Spain’s basketball team is sponsored by Li-Ning Footwear, a Chinese company founded by Li Ning, the final torchbearer who was hoisted along the top of Beijing National Stadium during the Olympic Opening Ceremony finale. The ad reportedly references that the Li-Ning Advertising representative asked the team to slant their eyes to appear more ‘Chinese’.
It’s baffling that nobody involved in the picture production from the Chinese firm considered that this ad would be looked at negatively. The team drew the line on endorsing the caption that was to be attached to the pic.
“Ching, Ching, Chinaman, sitting on a rail. Along comes a white man and cuts off his tail.”
Interestingly, the Spanish basketball team took on China tonight, winning 85-75 in overtime.
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I think there was a huge misunderstanding here. Everyone knows that the Spanish have telekinesis. The team was just trying to make use their powers of matter shifting to change a giant order of General Tso’s Chicken into an enormous platter of Paella. By putting their fingers to their head they can focus their powers. That’s not offensive.