Yi's holdout is embarrassing the Chinese

A series of post in this thread on LakersGround.net on 8/28/07.

LakerJam wrote:
Sorry, but I don't get the whole, "embarrass his country" argument - especially when it's HIS COUNTRY that wants him in another market. Chinese citizens don't just decide to sit out on their own, they follow the instructions of their government. If he sits out, it's by THEIR design and it's not an embarrassment unless THEY decide it is. Either way, it's not Yi's call.

From Hyphen Magazine, "Asian America Unabridged":

so far, Yi is doing a good job of undermining China's paragon of hard work and determination. Yi's outright refusal to even communicate with the Bucks is downright disheartening and a sobering wake-up call. The NBA is not exactly brimming with Asian players, and Yi has a chance to tie together China with America in a way that not even Yao could. Even at 7', Yi relates more to the average basketball player than "The Great Wall" because of his style and flair. Yet, he spurns the opportunity to play for an NBA team, creating clouds of doubt over future Asian-based basketball players ("Do we really want to draft him? Remember what happened with that Yi Jianlian kid?").

From Slam Online:

The (Chinese) people have spoken: A online poll recently revealed that 68% of the 9,000 people that were polled want Yi Jianlian to sign with the Bucks.

“Fegan will hamper Yi’s future,” former national team coach Qian Chenghai was quoted as saying in yesterday’s state-run China Daily newspaper. “I don’t think Yi refused to join the Bucks; it is Fegan who doesn’t want him to join.

“We don’t want to see Yi destroy his reputation in the NBA and return to the Chinese Basketball Association. That’s horrible.”

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LA_Lakers_Rule wrote:
^ wondered about that as well. All reports indicate that the Chinese government does not want Yi in Milwaukee but instead a higher profile city.

Chinese government wants him in Milwaukee, but it's not their decision. From Spot-On:

The first basketballer to go to the NBA, Wang Zhizhi, had to get permission from his army team. Yao Ming had to deal with Chinese Basketball Administration (whom he once sued for violating his endorsement rights). Yi is blocked not by military men or politicians, but by businessmen. “The Chinese basketball authorities have become a lot more open in the past couple years,” says a sport editor of a major Chinese news magazine who has followed his case. “Now the rest is up to Team Yi.”

The Bucks didn’t quite get this. In another ironic twist, it’s the U.S. ball club that turned to official diplomacy, rather than the backroom bargaining of the free market that's come to run China. Conveniently, the team owner, Sen. Herb Kohl, has been a friend of China. He has a record of generally supporting the country on key issues such as most-favored nation trading status, and the department stores that bear his family name are filled with wares made in Yi's home province. Soon after the draft, Kohl personally wrote a letter inviting Yi to tour Milwaukee. Later, according to the sport marketing exec, the Bucks tried to use Kohl’s political connections to influence the Yi camp. “But they [Chinese officials] said, know, ‘Hey we don’t represent Yi Jianlian,’” says the exec. “The Bucks wanted to rattle some cages. But in China you got to know what cages you’re rattling.”

More on how the Chinese want Yi to go to Milwaukee from the same source:

Alas Team Yi’s fighting a losing public relations battle. Virtually everyone, save Yi’s American agent and his Cantonese team – his biggest and most powerful stakeholders – thinks Yi should sign and suit up with the Bucks this season. NBA rules dictate that if he is to play in the league next year, he must. The 2008 Chinese Olympics squad clearly needs him, as well and Chinese basketball authorities granted him unprecedented permission to join the entire pre-draft road show, fully anticipating that he would. The vast majority of Chinese fans, Internet polls and bulletin board have shown, are vehemently pushing him to go to Milwaukee. The head of the Chinese Basketball Association even said last week he would travel there to help resolve the deadlock.