Yao Ming donates $500,000 to the Earthquake victims and gets dissed for it.

[Indazone]

Yao gave $500,000 Yuan of his NBA money to the victims from the earthquake in China and gets dissed for his stingy donation. Comments??

Yao's 'stingy' China quake donation sparks debate

1 day ago

BEIJING (AFP) — On a day when Deng Xiaoping's widow gave her entire life savings to China's earthquake relief, it didn't pass unnoticed here that sporting icon Yao Ming was a little less generous with his own donation.

China's richest celebrity donated 500,000 yuan (70,000 dollars) to a relief fund, sparking fierce criticism on the Internet that it was too little from a basketball hero known for his charity work.

"A bit stingy isn't it?" one fan wrote.

The 7.9-magnitude quake in China's southwest Sichuan province likely killed some 50,000 people, according to government estimates, with the official toll already nearly 29,000 but countless thousands missing or believed buried under the rubble of devastated towns.

Yao, the 2.26-metre (seven-foot-six-inch) Houston Rockets centre, has been at the top of the Forbes magazine list of richest Chinese celebrities for the past five years.

Last year he earned some 55 million dollars from basketball and sponsorship activities.

His initial offer of 500,000 yuan triggered its own "earthquake of protest,' Maopu (www.mop.com), a top entertainment website, said.

Critics maintain that the donation was loose change to a man who makes more than that with one promotional photo shoot.

"If 500,000 dollars -- not to mention 500,000 yuan -- disappeared from his bank account, he wouldn't even notice," said one fan.

Internet criticism of Yao forced the basketball star to up his donation to 2,000,000 yuan later in the week, according to media reports.

Criticism of sporting heroes is unusual in China where they are often seen as national icons.

Yao is known for his charity work, raising more than a million dollars for under-privileged Chinese children last year and devoting time and energy toward helping stage the 2007 Special Olympics in his home city of Shanghai.

But some Chinese are not slow to attack Yao when it comes to money, accusing him of not giving enough of his enormous wealth back to his home country.

"He's been drinking milk and eating bread (like an American) for a while and he's forgotten where he comes," one posting said. "You are Chinese!"

Though supporters were outnumbered by critics, many people agreed with one commentator who said that contributions were a personal matter, and "whatever Yao gives is his business."

On Friday, China's state media reported that Zhuo Lin, 92-year-old widow of China's late leader Deng, had emptied her life savings totalling 100,000 yuan to give to earthquake victims.

It said she found it hard to sleep and eat after hearing of the tragedy.

State media have played up donations by leaders, business entrepreneurs and others, but donations by the poor have also caught the public eye.

A migrant worker, at the bottom rung of China's labour market, donated 600 yuan which amounted to his entire monthly salary.

"It might not seem like much, but when you consider it's his whole month's income he gave far more than Yao Ming," said one commentator.

[timvp]

Doesn't the Chinese government get 50-60% of everything Yao makes -- including both his NBA contract and sponsorships? I think even his former team owner in China gets a percentage.

After taxes and the percentage China takes from him, Yao's $55M probably looks more like $15M.

[pawe]

mo' money, mo' problems

[bobbybob0]

Doesn't the Chinese government get 50-60% of everything Yao makes -- including both his NBA contract and sponsorships? I think even his former team owner in China gets a percentage.

After taxes and the percentage China takes from him, Yao's $55M probably looks more like $15M.

IIRC he has finally managed to get out of this arrangement at the beginning the season but basically, yeah, he's already given tons of cash to his country.

[TDMVPDPOY]

fok china they are a booming economy, they hold stacks of AMERICAN treasury notes and bonds, fuck them kents, if you have money to buy iron, ore an uranium, and spend billions on the PLA....a few million out of ur budget doesnt hurt.

yao ming donated which was voluntarily at his descression, the thought is what it matters.

if there is one country that needs it, its probably burma at the moment, but they got a fuckd up govt just like china, north korea. Fukn me myself i.

[Zee Laker]

fok china they are a booming economy, they hold stacks of AMERICAN treasury notes and bonds, fuck them kents, if you have money to buy iron, ore an uranium, and spend billions on the PLA....a few million out of ur budget doesnt hurt.

yao ming donated which was voluntarily at his descression, the thought is what it matters.

if there is one country that needs it, its probably burma at the moment, but they got a fuckd up govt just like china, north korea. Fukn me myself i.

:lmao. This is not birthday gift bro. These people lost everything. The thought alone dont count.

He should have donated more. 70k is nothing for some1 like him. Its his home country. Hell even for stupid reasons like reputation and image he should have donated more. Never mind, feeling like helping his people at the time of need.

BTW im a big fan of Yao so im not here to hate on him, but i do think he should have done more than 70k

[ElNono]

:lmao. This is not birthday gift bro. These people lost everything. The thought alone dont count.

He should have donated more. 70k is nothing for some1 like him. Its his home country. Hell even for stupid reasons like reputation and image he should have donated more. Never mind, feeling like helping his people at the time of need.

BTW im a big fan of Yao so im not here to hate on him, but i do think he should have done more than 70k

He did commercials for the Red Cross. He put time into it too.
Cut the guy some slack...

[Pistons < Spurs]

$70,000 is a bit weak IMO.

Of course it's a lot of money. And no he didn't need to do anything. So whatever money or time he gives speaks well of him.

But him being their Michael Jordan if you will, I'd think that the people of China, aswell as many here in the states, would expect a bigger donation coming from him.

$70,000 is less than half of one games pay for him. Per game, he earned roughly $168,000.

[Cry Havoc]

"He's been drinking milk and eating bread (like an American) for a while and he's forgotten where he comes," one posting said. "You are Chinese!"

Hogwash. Nationalistic nonsense. Americans give more foreign aid annually than any other country in the world. We are also among the first respondents with the heaviest payload.


This is not birthday gift bro. These people lost everything. The thought alone dont count.

If we're speaking in absolutes, then he gave $70,000, which is far more than most people gave. Since "the thought doesn't count", that $700 didn't count for much at all, then, and the person should be rebuked for not giving more.


He should have donated more. 70k is nothing for some1 like him. Its his home country. Hell even for stupid reasons like reputation and image he should have donated more. Never mind, feeling like helping his people at the time of need.

Wow, so he's only allowed to donate once? Maybe he wanted to travel to China to see the damage for himself before determining how much he gives?

That kind of "what have you done for me lately" attitude is so incredibly short-sighted and selfish. Who cares whether Yao has given a lot of money to China in the past? China is hurting and looking for individuals to be upset with, and if he doesn't immediately give $400,000,000 to his country, he's a failure. Maybe Yao thought he would be able to wait a week or two to donate money, since China's relief agencies are probably struggling to deal with all the influx of cash right now anyway? Perhaps Yao even wanted to personally oversee where his donation went to, or maybe he wanted to spearhead a re-development project after all the media hoopla has died down?


BTW im a big fan of Yao so im not here to hate on him, but i do think he should have done more than 70k

Did you give more than 70k? Keep in mind, this is REAL, and it's money, so it's not the thought that counts. Don't try to sentimentally give $400 and pretend it's going to help as many people as his donation.

[MaNu4Tres]

Maybe he should have donated the money to all the nail shops in America. I'm sure they would have appreciated it.

[Indazone]

Same kinda crap they gave Bill Gates. Noo Gates didn't donate enough money to charity. Richest guy in America. He's not philanthropist. Now look at Gates. Biggest charity ever in the Bill Gates Foundation. People without money always bagging on the ones that got it. But that's ok. Maybe they don't give right away because eventually Gates set up a huge foundation. Don't think people yammering on about how little or how much a rich person gives makes any difference.

[endrity]

Hogwash. Nationalistic nonsense. Americans give more foreign aid annually than any other country in the world. We are also among the first respondents with the heaviest payload.


Absolutely not true.

US might, I am not sure cause I don't have the numbers in front of me, give more in nominal terms, but in terms of percentage it's way beyond most European countries.

Also, when you consider that the main recepients of US aid are Israel, Egypt, and Colombia, it makes it even easier to criticize since neither of those countries really cry out for help.

As for Yao, I agree with what someone earlier said. China has already taken millions from him, it should STFU. With his endorsments Yao could be one of the richest athletes in the world, yet in the latest top 20 rankings that I read he was not. And 55 mill would put him in the top 7-8 as, so he clearely did not pocket it all. I remember Ronaldinho and Beckham were in the 40 range and they were 5-10. The top ones, Woods, Schumacher, are way beyond anyone.

[flipcritic]

It's easy for critics to blast him when it's not their money that's being earned.

[Vinnie_Johnson]

What a cheap bastard.

[YellowFever]

What the hell do you expect from a country full of socialists?

It's his damn money and he can do whatever the hell he wants with it, and I'm not going to criticize how he uses it.

As someone pointed out, the Communist Gov't get enough of his money as it is.

[ChumpDumper]

So how much did each of you donate?

[robbie380]

the thing that pisses me off the most about this story is that when yao does donate more money he will be ripped for it too. he is screwed either way. yao donates 70k to start then he donates more for a total of 500k but the only thing that gets attention is the initial 70k. this is so stupid.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I remember this thread back when it was Katrina and Lance Armstrong.

[Fillmoe]

JB, why are your people so greedy?

[SRJ]

Fuck the critics - it's not their money.

There is no scorecard for charity, and there shouldn't be. If you think this guy or that guy "should" give X percent, go fuck yourself. Who the fuck made you God?

[pwilliam]

I am a Chinese from Hong Kong. From what I have read, the first day after the earthquake, Yao Ming donated 500,000 yuan (70,000 dollars) through his agent in China. At the same time, he donated another 1.5 million yuan (214,000 US dollars) to the Red Cross in the US. So he donated a total of 2 million yuan (280,000 US dollars).

[v2freak]

What do athletes really need with all that money? One house not enough?

[Fillmoe]

How much did you donate v2freak?

[nil.ball]

$70,000 is about 2-3 days of his pay after tax.

That means for your average working people, half week of your pay in the same ratio. Now, unless your self has ever made a donation in this proportion, please stfu and get a job...

[TDfan2007]

At least he gave something. Some people are such bitches. 70,000 is a lot of money. Apparently he's given a total of $500,000 so far. Now that is a shitload of money and should make a big difference.

Let's also not forget that Yao never said that this was all that he was going to do to help.

[gospursgojas]

You know one of the new 7 deadly sins is having excesive money....

[Kobe24Forever]

70k yeah, that's no more than your daily pack of cigarretes to him, real cheap. How much has deke donated to making his hospital in congo? I heard it was in the region of 15 million, what about charles barkley? He donated at least 10 mill to the city of nevada, and facing a lawsuit for not giving enough, life is unfair.

[v2freak]

How much did you donate v2freak?

Actually, that's none of your business. Thanks for inquiring, I guess.

[endrity]

70k yeah, that's no more than your daily pack of cigarretes to him, real cheap. How much has deke donated to making his hospital in congo? I heard it was in the region of 15 million, what about charles barkley? He donated at least 10 mill to the city of nevada, and facing a lawsuit for not giving enough, life is unfair.

Dude, in various ways, China has probably recieved about 40-50 mil from Yao. People should seriously consider that.

[Harry Callahan]

If you are a Chinese athlete, the government OWNS you like a commodity.

That is why Yao will try to play for the Chinese National Team even if he is not healthy this summer.

The masses get brainwashed into practicing class warfare and the gifted citizens like Yao get intimidated into doing what the government wished.

The Chinese Basketball federation levies a huge tax against Yao's basketball salary. Sad by true. These infringements against the rights of their citizens are wrong, but all must bow at the alter of the all providing government over there, where they try to placate the masses with crumbs. A failed system eventually.

Hopefully by the time my kids are grown (these things take time), the Chinese people will rise up and liquidate the Communist officials system over there.

[robbie380]

If you are a Chinese athlete, the government OWNS you like a commodity.

That is why Yao will try to play for the Chinese National Team even if he is not healthy this summer.

The masses get brainwashed into practicing class warfare and the gifted citizens like Yao get intimidated into doing what the government wished.

The Chinese Basketball federation levies a huge tax against Yao's basketball salary. Sad by true. These infringements against the rights of their citizens are wrong, but all must bow at the alter of the all providing government over there, where they try to placate the masses with crumbs. A failed system eventually.

Hopefully by the time my kids are grown (these things take time), the Chinese people will rise up and liquidate the Communist officials system over there.

your view of china and chinese is just a little bit antiquated.

[Indazone]

It's changing over there. I expect that soon they will be just like Sweden and Norway in their political system as well. Economics rule the day. Free enterprise and trade. How can they call themselves Communists with a straight face? LOL

[ambchang]

Did all American NBA players give an enormous amount of money after Katrina? Why weren't they criticized?

Did those people who complained give more, even %-wise, than Yao? Did they give their life savings like Deng's widow?

[nil.ball]

Actually, that's none of your business. Thanks for inquiring, I guess.

0 dollars and 0 friggin cents!
:lol

[nil.ball]

70k yeah, that's no more than your daily pack of cigarretes to him, real cheap. How much has deke donated to making his hospital in congo? I heard it was in the region of 15 million, what about charles barkley? He donated at least 10 mill to the city of nevada, and facing a lawsuit for not giving enough, life is unfair.

I am sure 70k is nothing compare to what Kobe gave to that gold digger in Colorado.
:hat


[lol@myself, gold digger in colorado, now that's gold]

[Spurminator]

Actually, that's none of your business.

Convenient.

[Cry Havoc]

Actually, that's none of your business. Thanks for inquiring, I guess.

So you can criticize others for their donations, but the amount you gave is none of anyone's business. No hypocrisy there.

[deadratsam]

They should be grateful to receive a shovel and a blank get-well card.

It's not like he hasn't done or won't do anything again for his country.

[v2freak]

So you can criticize others for their donations, but the amount you gave is none of anyone's business. No hypocrisy there.

Yup. A lot of celebrities (Lindsay Lohan comes to mind) complain about the lack of privacy in their lives, but celebrities should know that everything they do will be publicized. It's the good-and-bad of being a celebrity; you get all kinds of fame wher wanted or not. Whatever he donated, in real terms, will help a lot of people. But it seems he could have have donated more for the country he holds so much pride for.

[Cry Havoc]

Yup. A lot of celebrities (Lindsay Lohan comes to mind) complain about the lack of privacy in their lives, but celebrities should know that everything they do will be publicized. It's the good-and-bad of being a celebrity; you get all kinds of fame wher wanted or not. Whatever he donated, in real terms, will help a lot of people. But it seems he could have have donated more for the country he holds so much pride for.

Maybe that's why he did? Kind of shoots your theory to hell, doesn't it?

[ChumpDumper]

Actually, that's none of your business.And Yao's donation is none of your business.

[v2freak]

You seem to have a lot of answers. Do you know what his disposable income is, and how much he donated exactly?

[Spurminator]

That's none of your business.

[Cry Havoc]

You seem to have a lot of answers. Do you know what his disposable income is, and how much he donated exactly?

http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/759-yao-ming

Yep. Man, he's a selfish tightwad.

[v2freak]

That's none of your business.


And Yao's donation is none of your business.

Okay. I will drop this. But, keep in mind that while we wonder what Tim has done in terms of donations and charity work - he likes to keep it a secret, as many suspect - others praise Yao for donating what others have described as "pennies to him."

This is what I said earlier: What do athletes really need with all that money? One house not enough? Maybe you believe that athletes deserve to make more than researchers, doctors and technicians. I don't care if you do, but I personally disagree with this degree of inequity. Less importantly, I don't care if you care about my opinion on the matter, but I think that what athletes and celebrities already do is simply not enough.

And this will be my last thoughts on the thread: just because you think Yao did a good deed does not make it any more your business than it does mine. ;)

[ChumpDumper]

It's none of your business and I don't care what you think.

[Harry Callahan]

your view of china and chinese is just a little bit antiquated.

You say my view is antiquated - is my view inaccurate? Probably not. I know that the government has allowed more things to the masses than in the sixties and seventies.

Please answer these questions so my antiquated view of China can be corrected.

Is it a violation of Chinese law to have more than one child? If a couple is expecting a second child, what happens? Abortion? Is the child taken away due to the population control laws?

Is it still a dangerous endevour to distribute bibles in Red China? It is my understanding that these activities are very risky even now. In China, the official view of any type of organized religion is not very forgiving. It is a threat to the state.

The Chinese goverment is closing down a bunch of factories close to the Olympics site so that the air quality will be better in August. The affected companies have no say in the matter.

A co-worker of mine visited China a couple of weeks ago on a trip that was part of an MBA program at the University of Texas. He stayed in one of the larger cities and did not enjoy his visit very much. He said the area was dirty and not geared well for tourism. He is not going back.

Look at this internet site we are using. The Chinese goverment filters all internet traffic to a much greater extent than free countries. Control the access to information. This is what totalitarian governments have done for years.

The good news is the doors to the rest of the world have been allowed to open, and the Chicoms may not be able to suppress their subjects in the long run.

Yao Ming did a good thing for suffering people in his country, but it was not good enough for some. He pays a majority of his NBA salary to the Chinese government, and still must pay US taxes as well. His heart is in the right place.

[Cry Havoc]

Okay. I will drop this. But, keep in mind that while we wonder what Tim has done in terms of donations and charity work - he likes to keep it a secret, as many suspect - others praise Yao for donating what others have described as "pennies to him."

This is what I said earlier: What do athletes really need with all that money? One house not enough? Maybe you believe that athletes deserve to make more than researchers, doctors and technicians. I don't care if you do, but I personally disagree with this degree of inequity. Less importantly, I don't care if you care about my opinion on the matter, but I think that what athletes and celebrities already do is simply not enough.

And this will be my last thoughts on the thread: just because you think Yao did a good deed does not make it any more your business than it does mine. ;)

How much money does a professional athlete bring into their sport and their city? How much money do you think think even a small market team like the Spurs have made from Tim Duncan?

How much money do you think Michael Jordan made for the city of Chicago. Is it even measurable? Can you even begin to quantify the benefit to local businesses, local sporting events, hell, just the buzz that he created here? Taxes from commercial deals? Ticket sales? Merchandising? Do you even think about the kind of relationship between what an athlete makes and what he earns for a city, or just dismiss them as overpaid without looking at the relationship between revenue gained and salary? I do not mean to dismiss doctors, professors, or the friendly tech support guys over at Dell.

What they do is vastly more important than the job of an athlete. Yet, when you see a billboard in Cleveland and it states: "We are all witnesses" you know who it's talking about without even seeing the jersey. Sports drive a city, and if you can do a little economics research, you will find that a stadium brings in more money to a city for it's land area and cost than any other structure. The stimulus provided by a packed stadium (especially baseball with 162 games a year) is simply unmatched. Even with only 30,000 fans per game at $25 per ticket, that equates to $60 million +. Without merchandising. Without food+drink. Without playoffs. Without traffic or residual stimulus to the local business. $60 million a year on tickets alone.

Fans are willing to throw down $200+ for a jersey, $1500 for a signed jersey, spend thousands of dollars per season on tickets, not to mention investing a ton of time into the sport, and they claim athletes are overpaid in the same breath. That is akin to stating that we need to preserve the rainforest while living in a log cabin with a wood burning furnace in Brazil.

The really funny part is that the athletes are always the ones talked about here. What about the owners? What about league administration? Do you think Jerry Buss drives around in a Pinto? Think David Stern lives in a tiny condo on the lower east side in NYC?

No, of course not. But you don't see them, so they never cross your mind, because you never stop to think. You just like to point out the popular scapegoat to feel better about what you haven't done to help the world.

[The Franchise]

$70,000 can do a lot of good. Why does everyone want to put their hand in Yaos pocket?

[Red Hawk #21]

I feel bad for Yao, and I also feel bad for the earthquake victims, If Yao doesn't have to only contribute money I'm sure there other things he can do to support them.

[Roxsfan]

those critical of how Yao spends his money, need to stfu.

[ambchang]

You say my view is antiquated - is my view inaccurate? Probably not. I know that the government has allowed more things to the masses than in the sixties and seventies.

Please answer these questions so my antiquated view of China can be corrected.

Is it a violation of Chinese law to have more than one child? If a couple is expecting a second child, what happens? Abortion? Is the child taken away due to the population control laws?

They pay a special tax.


Is it still a dangerous endevour to distribute bibles in Red China? It is my understanding that these activities are very risky even now. In China, the official view of any type of organized religion is not very forgiving. It is a threat to the state.

It depends on county to county. Local area officials have a lot of say in the matter, corruption still runs high in certain parts, but distributing religious materials is not as dangerous as it is perceived to be, or as it once was. This explains a huge growth in faith-based organization in China the last decade.


The Chinese goverment is closing down a bunch of factories close to the Olympics site so that the air quality will be better in August. The affected companies have no say in the matter.

That is true, the government also forced hundreds of thousands of people to move to build the 3 gorges dam, with little compensation.


A co-worker of mine visited China a couple of weeks ago on a trip that was part of an MBA program at the University of Texas. He stayed in one of the larger cities and did not enjoy his visit very much. He said the area was dirty and not geared well for tourism. He is not going back.

On the contrary, I have met many who have decided to stay in China long term because they love the vibrancy and pace of the city. I now have friends in Beijing and Shanghai.


Look at this internet site we are using. The Chinese goverment filters all internet traffic to a much greater extent than free countries. Control the access to information. This is what totalitarian governments have done for years.

There is a lot you don't know about the American government either.


The good news is the doors to the rest of the world have been allowed to open, and the Chicoms may not be able to suppress their subjects in the long run.

Yao Ming did a good thing for suffering people in his country, but it was not good enough for some. He pays a majority of his NBA salary to the Chinese government, and still must pay US taxes as well. His heart is in the right place.

Totally agree, it's his money, and it's not like he is not giving anything else, the man has done more for his country than most people ever would/could.

[Harry Callahan]

Thanks Ambchang for the info. I will say that we here in America in all likelihood have a lot more freedom regarding online information. I don't think the US government is blocking a huge amount of info like China appears to. Things are improving over there with prosperity, and over time civil rights will improve over there.

[robbie380]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3435735

i wonder if he will get ripped for this too

Yao to donate money, create foundation to aid earthquake victims

Associated Press

Updated: June 10, 2008, 6:59 PM ET

Yao Ming To Donate Money To Aid Earthquake Victims

HOUSTON -- Rockets center Yao Ming said he will donate $2 million and create a foundation to rebuild Chinese schools devastated by last month's earthquake in his home country.

Yao announced Tuesday the creation of the Yao Ming Foundation, which will begin with his donation.

Yao said the foundation will help raise funds to build earthquake-resistant schools in China. But some of the money from U.S. charities would also go to school-building efforts in the United States.

"As everyone knows about the recent tragedy in China, the earthquake tragedy was the worst in history," Yao said. "For this reason, I am working to give back funds."

He said rebuilding will take many years and he plans to make further donations and raise public awareness about the earthquake victims.

[Don Quixote]

I read a book recently called "Back to Jerusalem." It's an account of the Christian church that had to go underground when China went Communist in 1948. The authors of the book say that the government being hostile to the church (and religion in general) was actually a blessing in disguise. It forced the church to become less worldly and more dependent on God, and I would say that the majority of Chinese believers (in the underground churches) are considerably more mature and powerful spiritually than their counterparts in free countries.

[cze1860]

I love Yao Ming, he is not only work well and also very help others。

[TDMVPDPOY]

I love Yao Ming, he is not only work well and also very help others。

For all of those who are giving yao shit for not doing donating much....

if you compared him to the entertainers in china/hk, im talkin about the successful megastars and even rich familys, they didnt even donated that much ...all were in the range what yao donated.

There was a list of donaters of who contributed what....