A lot of Chinese basketball fans are pissed at Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy for keeping Yao in meaningless games at the end of this season because Yao ended up breaking his foot and will require several months of rehab. The result is that he will likely miss the World Championships in Japan – a big deal to the Chinese.
In a quote from Reuters re-printed in today’s Chron, one Chinese fan was quoted as saying, “He (Van Gundy) disabled Yao Ming! He’s more vicious than a capitalist!”
While I’m no JVG apologist, his response was priceless…
“I just want Yao to recover when he can and become an even better basketball player,” Van Gundy said. “I’ve got enough problems already without being a vicious capitalist pig.”
Classic!