Why Asian American athletes are tired of the ‘model minority’ stereotype

Stars such as Jeremy Lin and Chloe Kim have long endured racist taunts, but they have recently started to speak about their experiences

“Tell Yao Ming, ‘Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh’”.

Those were the words Shaquille O’Neal casually tossed out in a 2003 TV interview when referring to the Houston Rockets’ Chinese star. Whether, as O’Neal claimed, it was meant as a joke or not, it was the kind of language Asians in America have had to endure for years.