Comments on: Why Does NBA TV Analyst Rick Kamla Still Have a Job After Calling Yi a “Chinaman”?

By: greg J

greg J — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:00:09 +0000

It’s a bit like LeBron James saying a particular shoe that Mike Miller wears is “…a good shoe for an unathletic white guy”. The double standard is alive and well in the USA

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:24:16 +0000

Chinaman is a racial slur, especially in the U.S. Just because some of you are not aware of it, doesn’t make it a “mild” word. To most Asian Americans it is equivalent to “nigger”, but not to “honky”.

It is equivalent to “nigger” because laws were passed excluding the Chinese from immigrating to the U.S., interned at Angel Island, and even killed during the time of the gold rush.

A lot of white folks don’t find words like “honky” or “peckerwood” too offensive because there is no history of discrimination or violence behind them. So to the people who think “chinaman” is a mild word, you have to look at the history.

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:19:42 +0000

Unbelievable, OG. So let me get this straight: it’s not okay to use a mild term like “Chinaman”, which you’d have to be looking for an excuse to be offended to have a problem with… but it’s totally okay to use a homophobic slur that’s 1000 times more well-known and more offensive than “Chinaman”? It’s not okay to accidentally offend Asians, but you can offend gays to your heart’s content? What the f**k, you little hypocritical piece of s**t? You just discredited any thought that we should shed tears because Kamla said “Chinaman”, if you’re going to turn around and talk s**t about homosexuals. You’re way more bigoted than Kamla ever thought about being, all of you a**holes are if you think that one is okay and the other isn’t. F**k you guys.

By: OG

OG — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:09:37 +0000

And leave it pussy bitch Mike to try and change the subject. And Josh, the girls you masturbate to don’t count as friends. Fag.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:09:23 +0000

So answer this question for me Brian Spencer: Why is it acceptable to write out a derogatory name for one race but not another? You spell ni**er while writing out Chinaman? How is that right? Stop being such a hypocrite. It was an honest mistake and no matter how many times you complain about it, you have no idea what went through his mind. And why do you deserve to be writing a blog after your slip that I mentioned but Kamla shouldn’t get a chance for saying something he wasn’t aware of. He immediately apologized for it and I, for one, believe him. Get over yourself, buddy. Write something worth reading instead of just trying to draw traffic.

By: Ryan K.

Ryan K. — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:53:03 +0000

Chinaman is not the same as Englishman and Frenchmen. Even if it were, it should be Chineseman or Englandman and Franceman, for it to add up. As stated earlier, Chinaman was used as a derogatory word.

By: Josh

Josh — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:10:34 +0000

I think that the point people are trying to make when they say this term isn’t offensive is that they were in no way aware of its offensive connotation, because the compound word itself has a very obvious and innocuous meaning. Dutchman, Englishman and Frenchman are all fine. So there is absolutely no way that someone uneducated in racial slurs would realize that perhaps adding this suffix to his country of origin would be seen as offensive. I didn’t know it was, and i’m definitely better off now for being informed.

Clearly, it isn’t ok to refer to people in a derogatory way, but don’t get upset about ignorance, because it really isn’t my fault that I didn’t know this was a slur. I have a lot of chinese and other asian-american friends, and none of us realized this was an issue. So thank you for enlightening us, but please, do calm down.

By: Carlos G.

Carlos G. — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:02:51 +0000

A few years back, Steve Kerr called Yao Ming a Chinaman on a TNT broadcast and later apologized. As this article points out, Rick Kamala is in a public position as a visible representative of the NBA and should have known better, especially with what happened with Steve Kerr.

By: MA

MA — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:28:56 +0000

I think a lot of modern white people may not know that the term “Chinaman” or “Chinamen” is sort of an old fashioned put down for Chinese (i.e. stay in your place Chinaman- don’t be a threat to me, the white man, your superior). If you have a white person who lives in an area with no Asians, they may have no clue. On the other hand, I think someone who is a professional announcer on TV OUGHT to know better. I also think a lot of white people seem like it is ok to offend people of color as long as they did it by accident. It’s not.

By: Jordan White

Jordan White — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:50:06 +0000

I cannot believe the ignorance in the comments on here. Especially by all the white people on here saying “I had no idea Chinaman is a racial slur.” Did you guys not see The Big Lebowski?

You all sound like Randal from Clerks 2 when he did not realize that the term “porch monkey” was a racial slur:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6OselVRTsM

Idiots. Seriously, no wonder why Americans are seen as uncultured and closeted. -,-;

By: Joe Wong

Joe Wong — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:22:37 +0000

Why the double standard – no excuses. This guy is supppose to be a pro not a child. What if it was the Niggxx word? No excuses.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:07:47 +0000

Though I am a Chinese American, I see the use of the term “Chinaman” the same as if he used the word “Negro”. Such as, “That makes this the 4th win for the negro.” You just don’t hear people saying that anymore and they shouldn’t, same goes for Chinaman. It’s not a racial slur at all like Chink, gook or nigger. But it is just an ignorant word used back when white people didn’t know any better. This country has been here for a long time and through a lot and I think we should be beyond branding people based on their color. Instead lets consider him as the athlete he should be because that’s what really counts. Not the color of his skin, which clearly is what Rick Kamala intended with his use of words.