Asian American Athletes have managed to position themselves among the very best in various professional leagues and athletic competitions; at UNANIMO Deportes we present some of them to you.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Month. This growing population, which often does not receive the recognition it deserves, has given us extraordinary exponents in the field of sports.
UNANIMO Deportes joins this celebration as we will present stories of athletes who have risen to the highest levels of their respective sports.
Who makes up the Asian American community?
The Asian-American and Pacific Islander community includes all people of Asian origin, whether by birth, ancestry or naturalization, who live in the United States. Asian-Americans have been here for more than four centuries, since the first record of their arrival dates back to 1587, when a large number of Filipinos settled in California, which back then was still claimed by Spain.
From Hines Ward, one of the best NFL receivers ever, who was born in South Korea, to the youngest coach in the history of the NBA, Erick Spoelstra, of Filipino descent, Asian-Americans who make up 6% of the US population (21 million inhabitants) carry the pride of their diverse heritage in their blood.
Asian-Americans in Sport
Asia and the Pacific islands have provided great figures to the world of sport, such as the Filipino Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao, the only boxer in history to have won nine world titles in eight different categories; the Chinese diver Wu Minxia, who has won seven (7) Olympic medals (5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze); or the Korean footballer Cha Bum-kun, who scored 98 goals in 308 games for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen, as well as winning 2 UEFA Cups.
Nonetheless, racial bias against Asians is seen at the collegiate sports level and earlier, for athletes of Asian American heritage. According to Stan Thangaraj, a professor of anthropology at The City University of New York, most organized sports in the U.S. “don’t mentor athletes of Asian descent because they don’t consider them to be true athletes. They are perceived as excellent students.”
According to Statista, Infogram, Routine and Football Reference, the percentage of Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islander athletes who comprise the top professional leagues in the United States are as follows:
LEAGUE % OF ASIAN-AMERICANS MLB 2.9%; NFL 1.9%; NHL 1.0%; MLS 0.7%; NBA0.4%
Panamá: 160,000; Cuba: 150,000; Guatemala: 138,000; Honduras: 67,200
Some of these athletes have forever left their mark on the annals of U.S. sports, such as Yao Ming, who is considered a cultural and sports ambassador for China. Yao was a professional basketball player, who played eight seasons in the NBA, with the Houston Rockets, was an eight-time All-Star and had 9,247 points, 4,494 rebounds and 920 blocks.
A current super-star athlete is Shohei Ohtani, a Japanese baseball player who is a pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder, and who is considered to be the best all-around player in baseball. Playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he signed the most lucrative contract in the history of the sport.
In 2018 he was named American League Rookie of the Year, while last year he was unanimously named the American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second time, he was also the first player in MLB history with more than 10 home runs, more than 20 stolen bases as a batter, more than 100 strikeouts in more than 10 appearances as a pitcher, all in the same season.
He was also co-leader in home runs during 14 starts and as if that were not enough, he is the first player in history to be an All Star as a pitcher and hitter in the 2021 All-Star Game, in which he started at both positions.
Asian-Latinos and Sports
A report by the Asian Development Bank (ADV) points out that Asia is the continent with the largest number of migrants spread around the world. One in three expats are from this region of the world.
Latin American countries have welcomed Asian immigrants with open arms, and they have enriched all areas of culture, boosted the economy with their workforce and businesses, as well as integrated into society, for generations, including sports.
Asian-Latin athletes have also left their mark south of the border, as in the case of Pablo Larios Iwasaki, a Mexican of Japanese roots, who was the starting goalkeeper of the ‘Tri’ in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, in addition to winning the first division championship with Club Puebla.
Chinese-Panamanian baseball player Bruce Chen played 17 seasons in the MLB and wore 11 jerseys, including the Yankees and Red Sox. He achieved 82 wins as a major leaguer and equaled Mariano Rivera’s record for most wins by a Panamanian, he was also a pitcher in the World Classic with Panama and China.
Lyoto ‘El Dragón’ Machida, a Brazilian-Japanese expert in Mixed Martial Arts and former UFC light heavyweight champion, who has a record of 26 wins and 8 losses, also stands out.
These figures, as well as others will be showcased during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, with the diversity of their sports, ethnicities and their mix of races on full display.
