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Thanks to Pau Gasol's 29 points the Spanish team overcame a 14 point deficit to send the game into overtime tied at 72. Then, much to the chagrin of millions of angry Chinese, Spain overcame karma and pulled out an 85-75 victory. But not before their team picture exploded into controversy. To such a degree that the Spanish press are going out of their way to defend the team. Spanish news site, Soitu's article suggests that the international media are making too big of a deal of the "slit-eye" photo. Their article commences: "What began as a simple graceful photo to wish luck to the Spanish basketball team in the Olympic Games has finished with accusations of racism and discrimination in the foreign press." Yes, of course, a simple, graceful photo. The fact that this photo exists isn't a huge surprise. Basketball players aren't renowned for their worldly perspective. What's unique about this photograph is that it ran in two of Spain's biggest newspapers. As an advertisement for a courier service, no less. And not one single person in Spain thought it was the least bit offensive. Only when other countries saw the photograph did it become an issue. Put it this way, what would have happened in America if the U.S. Basketball team posed for these photos on behalf of Fed Ex? Yeah, thought so. The Spanish press doesn't think these photos are a big deal, but the rest of the world disagrees. ¿Te parece ofensiva esta foto? [Soitu] Spain basketball team add victory to insult against China [The Guardian] More »
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Spain, patron saint of the New World, land of low-priced cerveza, Sergio Garcia's homeland, and where slant-eyed jokes by the Spanish national basketball team leave the entire country rolling on the floor with laughter. Those were the fourth grade days. Just imagine what would have happened if they'd followed up this team photo with bunny ears behind every player's head. The above photo was actually included in a Spanish newspaper according to The Guardian: "Spain's Basketball Federation has published a good luck advert for their men's team, the world champions, in which they stand pulling at the sides of their eyes in a slit-eyed gesture." The Spoiler reports that this photo ran on a full page in the Spanish sports daily, Marca. Yep, this ad ran in Spain and not a single person had an issue with it. Wait, is it slit-eye or slant-eye? I've always gone with slant-eye. Am I wrong? Regardless this will really help Spain's quest to host the Olympics in 2016 and 2020. Spain basketball team pictured in controversial pose [The Guardian] Spain brings racism to the Olympic games [The Spoiler] More »
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