Spanish player defends racially controversial photo
BEIJING (AP) — Players on Spain’s Olympic basketball team defended a photo in an ad showing the players using their fingers to apparently make their eyes look more Chinese.
The photo, which has been running as a newspaper spread in Spain since Friday, shows all 15 players making the gesture on a basketball court adorned with a Chinese dragon. The photo was part of a publicity campaign for team sponsor Seur, a Spanish courier company, and is being used only in Spain.
EDITED to add: Oh, no they didn’t go with the “some of my best friends are…” defense – wait, yes they did:
From here I would like to declare that we have a huge respect for the East and their people, some of my best friends in Toronto are from China and one of our Spanish National Team sponsors is the Chinese brand Li Ning. Anyone who would like to interpret this differently is absolutely confused.
This is a completely disgusting racially motivated ad campaign. I find it further troubling that when called on it that instead of admitting that the commercial was wrong the Spanish team decided to defend their actions. Just another wonderful Olympic moment I suppose. I am really beginning to embrace our post-racial world.
Anyone who wants to interpret this photo differently from WHAT? Like, what are they claiming they were thinking when they decided to pose this way? I skimmed the articles but I still don’t understand the motivation.
“They sat around a dragon pattern, which we think showed respect to the Chinese.”
“We thought it was something appropriate and that it would always be interpreted as somewhat loving.”
Hahaha.