Patriotism by Perspective?

I recently entered into a conversation on an ESPN message board about a man’s obligation to his country. The man in question is Yao Ming, and should he come back to play for his country in the 2008 summer Olympics. At what point is enough, and when does your body tell you it is time to give it a rest? Yao

has almost played basketball year-round since 2002, not including when he has been injured. The troubling thing about Yao Ming being injured is where the injuries have been located.

In 2005 Yao developed osteomyelitis in the big toe on his left foot, and surgery was performed on the toe, in 2006 he broke his right knee, and this year Yao’s season was ended by a stress fracture in his left foot. These are all lower body injuries, and aren’t that uncommon for a man standing 7’6”, and weighing 310 lbs. Carrying around that much bulk, and pounding up and down a basketball court for 10 months out of the year can be brutal.

It was reported today that Yao is going to try and return to play in July for a pre-Olympic tournament. He has not been cleared by doctors to play yet, and it would be a close call to when the Stankovic Cup is to start on July 17^th. I believe that Yao has not received adequate rest over the past 5 years to let his body recuperate from these injuries, and just let his legs rest period. If he was aiming towards the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a plan to acclimate rest into his schedule should have been thought out. If you have a prize horse, and that is what Yao Ming is to the Chinese basketball team, you would not continue to run, and run him until he is run into the ground.

I personally am not concerned with the length of Yao Ming’s NBA career, I am generally more concerned with his quality of life after years of playing in the Olympics, International tournaments, other tune-up events for China, and then returning to the U.S. for the long, grinding NBA season. We have long heard of athletes that have left professional sports, and could barely get out of the bed in the morning, or do basic things like play with their children.

During the conversation, I was chided as being ridiculous to think that Yao would think of himself over his country. One objector even went as far as saying that if he were in Yao Ming’s shoes he would break every bone in his body to represent his country. I understand the loyalty to country, as my family is represented by many Veterans, but I am also a product of the American concept of capitalism.

Capitalism has led me to believe that yes I can represent my country, but yes it is alright for me to look out for myself, my family, and my own interests. Clearly, the Republic of China has a different set of values, and the last time I checked it was based on communism, which is basically community property.

I took it a little personal when I was criticized for my opinion on the subject, that was until I took a step back. I had to realize that from the eyes of Yao Ming, and the probably the people who questioned me that we spoke from 2 totally different perspectives, and 2 sets of social mores. Instead of striking back in a negative manner, I gave proper due to Yao Ming and left it at that.

In conclusion, I respect Yao Ming to the fullest, and all the time and money that he dedicates to his country. He follows the values that he was raised with, and he does not bend in those beliefs. So when I look at his actions, I look at them from the western hemisphere point-of-view and I place my set of values upon them. So the deeper lesson I learned was that I must look at the deeper picture, and sports sometimes comes down to more than meets the eye, and in this case politics, social values, and different cultural views have found their way into this conversation. Let’s hope that the 2008 summer Olympics bring relevant conversation that advance beyond sports, and maybe we can all understand each other on a different level at the end of the day.