The Spanish National Team posed for a controversial pre-Olympic games advertisement in which the 15-member team each used a gesture popular for making fun of Asian people.  From Pau Gasol to Ricky Rubio, each member of the team used their index fingers to pull up the corners of their eyes, mimicking the eyes of an Asian person, or in this case, a Chinese person.

The advertisement was backed by a Chinese company, in fact it was done for Li-Ning’s T-Shirt company (the Spanish players are wearing the shirts in the ad).  Li Ning is a Chinese National hero that won six medals in Gymnastics during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and had the honor of lighting the huge torch during the Olympic opening ceremonies.

And to add, during the commercial, Spanish forward Berni Rodríguez did speak in Mandarin.  The advert also carries the symbol of the Chinese sport’s governing body.  Even so, the photo is a little shocking to see.

No one involved in the advert appears to have considered it inappropriate nor contemplated the manner in which it could be interpreted in China and elsewhere. No offence was intended by the advert, but whether the Chinese see it that way is a different matter and it is likely to provoke more criticism at a delicate time for Spanish sport.” – The Guardian.co.uk

Though I don’t doubt that there was any malicious or racism intended, I do believe that better judgment could have been used.  With the understanding that these type of things can bring about emotional respnses and before long, they were on their way to Beijing.

Someone, anyone, 1-15, coaches, PR, scouts,… someone must have understood that this was going to bring some bad publicity or raise some eyebrows?  Seriously, no pun intended.

So, what do you think?  Innocuous?  Political Correctness?  Bad decision-making?  Let us know what you think and discuss the advertisement in our thread dedicated to the subject.

Links and Resources: Spain’s Eye-Catching Faus-Pax (Guardian), Spanish NT involved in Racist Advertisement (Interbasket), Li Ning, Olympic Hero and Global Sports Brand, Lights Torch (MarketWatch)