Opinion | WCBA coach calls basketball player 'scum' for playing for Japan
"It doesn’t matter she goes by Li Mingyang or some other nasty Japanese name, she is the one despised by millions of Chinese basketball fans. This person doesn’t love her own country, doesn’t sweat for her own country, and she is the scum of Chinese basketball," said the coach
Li Mingyang, an ambitious and talented former WCBA (Women’s Chinese Basketball Association) player, was recently described as “scum” by her ex -coach after she turned down the offer to play again for China and became a Japanese citizen.
It is not just the prospect that Li is to play for the WJBA, Japan’s premier women’s basketball league and ultimately Japan’s national team, that angered Chinese coach Li Xin most. It’s Li’s newly adopted Japanese name, Miyuki Sugiyama, or すぎやま みゆきin Japanese, which led the coach to vent her anger on Weibo, China’s popular social media website.
The since deleted Weibo post reads:
“It doesn’t matter she goes by Li Mingyang or some other nasty Japanese name, she is the one despised by millions of Chinese basketball fans. This person doesn’t love her own country, doesn’t sweat for her own country, and she is scum of China’s basketball.”
Media reports later revealed that the 18-year-old, 1.91-metre-tall Li played centre position. She was regarded as a key figure in the 2010 World Championship where her team scored third place. Her exceptional performance landed her a spot at a Japanese club after the championship.