It could be important to show that you care about what is important to your players, so long as it doesn't interfere with the team. Could you spell out how missing mandatory practices wouldn't interfere with the team? I'm unclear on that, as I think the reason most organizations hold practices is to make the team better. Graduations, deaths, major life moments, important charitable events. Maybe, yes, maybe, if the team says no, then no.
now celebrate him as a patriotic icon who smashes the stereotype of the weak and diminutive Chinese and shows how China can compete against the best in the world... I'm not sure this is actually a stereotype outside of, say, Buffalo. The Chinese sure don't think this way. If I'm an NBA team, I might fine him. Get basketball as priority number 1 - or at least remind him. The positive vibes are nice, but let's not suggest that they would or should be prioritized above the team. I'm not saying it's great that he was fined - it's just not evil or stupid.
Could you spell out how missing mandatory practices wouldn't interfere with the team? I'm unclear on that, as I think the reason most organizations hold practices is to make the team better. The basketball season is very, very long, and it's October. So, long as they are clicking two months from now, they will be fine.
YOU ALL FROM THE SOUTH posted by BOLTING2BELEIVE at 10:53 AM CDT on October 4 Why yes, yes I am. Is that a point of contention for you? admin can delete this comment along with the prior deletions to come
Goddamn! I don't know what a media day pays, but let's just say $10,000 a practice? Holy Shit! I'd live at the Rockets facility and do the laundry in my spare time. Screw the Special Olympics! Pay me $21,000 and I'm there, otherwise don't bother. You'd have to be RETARED not to attend practice. Oh God, in your divine wisdom, why did you have to make me 5'6" and earthbound with zero game?
Fraz, I can see your point, and I agree to a certain extent. But are Yao's skills on the court that fragile that they couldn't let the 2 missed practices slide? Has basketball season even started yet? (not trying to be sarcastic)
CAN ANYONE HELP ME UNSTICK MY CAPS LOCK? Oh, thanks. I agree with Crafty in that the story is on Yao doing something upstanding, despite the knowledge that it was going to cost him. While not a great PR move, the Rockets have a policy and that policy was violated. They simply enforced their player rulebook. Yao, knowing it was going to cost $, went ahead and did what he felt was right as an ambassador for both his league and his home nation. There doesn't necessarily have to be a villain in the story. And not to harsh on the NBA, but how important is early season practice for a center, anyway? It's not like he's running the point, or even covering too much of the floor. Does it take that much practice to run back and forth between the hoops? (okay, maybe I was intending to harsh on the NBA)
MINE IS STUCK TOO... oh, there it goes... I agree with bperk. Maybe his home country is more important to him than playing for a crappy team. I'd skip a mandatory practice to attend my kid's graduation, i'd skip if a family member passed away, and I'd skip to do something else I feel is important. but then again, I'm not exactly a pro athlete.
I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes about posting, by Wonkette (the new guys, not Ana Marie). "Hell, if we started drinking in the morning we'd be caps-locked and punctuation-free by afternoon too." The question here seems to be whether the Rockets should have fined Yao for missing practice without permission. That's a stupid question. The question should be what idiot denied him permission in the first place. And one of the things he missed was a media day? "We're sorry, Yao Ming won't be here today. He's tied up inspiring mentally handicapped children from all over the world." Yeah, I can see where that could be embarrassing. Just one more time the NBA owners prove that they, as a group, have no clue as to what is killing their league, so they're going to act like a bunch of jr. high assistant principals.
Actually, the Jr. High School Assistant Principals would have made him spend all day at the Special Olympics because it would be "good for him to be exposed to the differently abled." Now, the Jr. High math teacher, on the other hand, would give him an "f" for any work missed that day.
Yao should tell the reporters after the next practice that he's okay with the fine (IIRC penalty dollars go to some charity) and that he'll send twice the dosh to the Special Olympics because his principles are more important than his day job. Let's see the Rockets and D.Stern respond to that.
