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24 | FORBES ASIAASIA JUNE july 2013 2017 A Star Returns Home Despite fears that he would leave behind, legend always planned to come back and use his fame and fortune for philanthropy.

BY RON GLUCKMAN

ao Ming seemed omnipres- encouraging the plunder of elephants. ent in 2009. A superstar Although outlawed across Africa, poachers with the , outgun park rangers, slaughtering animals China’s premier basketball indiscriminately. Unable to halt the brutal player peered out from hun- harvest, animal-rights groups pressed for dreds of billboards across his hometown bans on trading ivory, with mixed results. Yof . But this was no game. His As the trade moved underground, Yao again mission: saving sharks. put his huge frame and bigger fame on the Shark’s fin soup had long been a popular line, traveling to Africa. A documentary splurge in China. Rising affluence put the was made, and photos of the 7-foot-6 star delicacy on tables across the mainland, frolicking with a baby elephant went viral. boosting kills from 70 million to 100 million “I believe it’s important to get involved,” he sharks annually. Many shark species were said. Wildlife groups believe that the cam- threatened with extinction. paign rapidly raised awareness of the issue Conservation groups sought to wean and led the government to further restrict China from this habit but without luck. the market for ivory. Then WildAid drafted Yao as the spokes- Chinese stars regularly figure in nation- man for its campaign. “Say no to shark’s fin alist causes, but few had leveraged their soup!” urged Yao, and China listened. Shark celebrity to personally challenge society. quickly dropped off menus. “It went down And few are as celebrated as Yao, China’s 60%, so that was pretty good,” recalls Yao most famous athlete. Surveys say Yao, 36, is modestly. Others call it one of the most ef- even more famous in China than Chairman Bringing hoop dreams to poor kids in China: “What Yao Ming fective environmental campaigns ever. Mao. A perennial All-Star, injuries curtailed is doing in China is awesome.” A few years later, Yao turned to an- his career in North America’s National Bas- other crusade—the fight against the ivory ketball Association in 2011, but he remains trade. Ivory carvings are dear to Chinese, intensely involved in sports in China. Re-

july 2017 FORBES ASIA | 25 FORBES ASIA yao ming turning to Shanghai, he bought the Sharks doing in China is awesome. He’s really put- Yao’s philanthropic journey involved basketball team that he played for as a teen. ting in the time to help his people, the kids, many turns, but his path to basketball great- In February, he was elected president of the his country. Nobody else is doing anything ness seemed almost preordained. His par- Chinese Basketball Association. like it.” ents were both basketball stars: Yao Zhiyuan Yao has never sought the spotlight. So it’s Upon arrival, Yao was enveloped in a was a top , standing 6-foot-10, while no surprise to find that his Yao Foundation maelstrom of attention, handling it unlike mother Fang Fengdi is 6-foot-2. Intense is little known—unless you are a poor kid in almost any other superstar: patient, low- anticipation surrounded his upbringing. By some Chinese backwater. Then Yao not only key, eternally cheerful. Grabbing a chair, he the time he was 10, he topped 5-foot-5 and fuels your hoop dreams, but he may also be shrunk down to semihuman size but quick- shifted to a special sports school. the sports saint providing your basketball ly bounced back on his feet, coaching his Most incorrectly call him China’s first court, shoes and sports training. youth team as if an Olympics medal was on basketball export. Actually, he was third in Working in remote areas of China, the the line. And he displayed that Yao humor. a wave of NBA-bound big men. The Dallas foundation—with an annual budget of When one kid attempted a sideline three- Mavericks drafted center of roughly $2.5 million—equips and trains shot, he extended a gigantic arm, as if the , and in 2001, he became children aged 13 and under. Volunteers to the ball. The crowd roared. the first Chinese player to suit up for an are recruited from universities, trained as Afterward came photo sessions; he NBA game. Later that season Mengke coaches and then sent to schools that often posed for hours. “Helping other people is Bateer played for the . A don’t have physical education programs. the right thing to do,” he said, noting that beefy Inner Mongolian, he often logged Boys and girls join teams that compete for NBA community projects taught him how more fouls than minutes and soon returned to the CBA. But he’s the only player from China with an NBA championship ring, won with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003. In 2002, Houston drafted Yao No. 1, making him the first foreigner chosen with a top draft pick. He debuted amid tremen- dous expectations from Chinese fans and skepticism from American commentators. ­ famously kissed a donkey’s ass after betting that Yao would never score more than 19 points in any of his rookie- season games; he scored 20 in just his eighth game. Shaquille O’Neal, the dominant NBA big man, was dismissive and condescend- ing. Yao was unrattled, responding with humility and humor. In his first game in The kids “are excited about everything, but especially meeting Yao Ming.” Miami, Heat management distributed 8,000 local and regional honors, culminating in enriching it was to be personally involved. fortune cookies, oddly stereotypical since a weekend of playoffs, all-star events and a He described going to people’s homes, with they don’t exist in China. Yao joked that chance to meet and pose with the Gentle food, games or, in one case, a mattress. “I he liked trying this American treat. O’Neal Giant. “Nobody could sleep last night,” remember looking at that guy, in his eyes, bullied Yao in their first meeting, but behind confided Ma Jing last year in Chengdu. A and seeing his reaction, how happy he was fervent Chinese balloting, Yao outpolled teacher in Panzhihua, in remote Sichuan just to have a bed. It was so touching. That is him in the All-Star voting. Province, she had come with the school very small for you, but big for other people.” Yao averaged 19.2 points and 9.2 re- team, traveling 14 hours by train. Most had Thus the seed was planted to make bounds a game in his NBA career. His suc- never seen a big city and buzzed about visit- philanthropy an integral part of his life. He cess not only buoyed basketball in China, ing an amusement park. “They are excited formed the Yao Foundation and continued but accelerated the globalization of the about everything, but especially meeting to work for other causes, such as the Special game. During his induction into the Hall Yao Ming. Me, too!” Olympics. “The reason I do it this way is I of Fame last year, O’Neal helped him into Stars come from the CBA and the NBA: like to feel people. I believe in the power of his Hall of Fame jacket. That the event was Last year, it was George Hill of the example. I believe that making eye contact, taking place only now was another example and, in 2015, Golden State Warriors forward face-to-face, heart-to-heart, is the only way of his character. NBA players must be re- Draymond Green. “I’d do this anytime for that can really change things,” he says, add- tired for five years before the Hall considers Yao Ming,” said Hill. “What Yao Ming is ing: “And change yourself.” them, but Yao qualified in 2012 because

26 | FORBES ASIA july 2017 of his earlier play in China. He demurred, schedule, rushing home after every season and most important pro basketball league,” however, saying it was too early to think of to play with the national team. Despite such notes Terry Rhoads, a former Nike China joining such illustrious company. dedication, he was hounded by officials and marketing executive and now co-owner of Such was his style from the start. “He the public, who questioned his every move. Shanghai-based Zou Sports. “Ultimately he was so patient,” recalls Peter Hessler, author Did Yao really need surgery before Beijing’s will lift China basketball to new heights.” of several bestselling books about China, 2008 Olympics? (He cut short his recovery Yao’s vision for China is long term: including River Town. As the New Yorker to play and did spectacularly.) He married nurturing a love of the game and slowly magazine’s China correspondent, he shad- Ye Li, a basketball star he met when he was developing new generations of players. owed Yao that first season: “I can’t imagine 17—she was the only girl he ever dated. The That’s what he’s been doing for five years. He anyone being under such pressure and birth of their daughter, Yao Qinlei, was a launched his youth leagues in 47 schools in handling it so gracefully.” Tim Noonan, a national obsession, but chat sites blazed over 2012. Last year, he had programs in nearly longtime sports columnist in , their decision to give birth in Houston. 380 but reached thousands more children has followed Yao since he was a teen. “He’s The fear was rampant that Yao would through a partnership with Hope Schools. the real deal. He broke all the barriers and abandon China for greater stardom and “I don’t pretend to know what it’s like for handled it all so well,” he says. “I’ve been rewards in the U.S. “I wouldn’t have been these kids,” says Yao, who spent weeks around a lot of athletes, but he’s more com- surprised if he stayed in the U.S.—a lot of coaching to gain some insight. “I wasn’t in a fortable in his skin than any I’ve seen.” athletes would have,” notes Hessler. “He village. I grew up in a big city, Shanghai.” Yao’s adjustment to America was quick. could have stayed in the U.S. and continued Ma Ruixue was one of two girls on the He savored new foods, played videogames, going back and forth to China. That would team from Panzhihua at the tournament learned English and soaked up everything. have been the easy path.” in Chengdu. She had played for years, Yet unlike many players who come to But Yao had been planning his philan- although it wasn’t really basketball before America, playing for colleges or basketball- thropic future since his early days in the Yao helped the school. “We didn’t know the focused academies and hoping to make it NBA. His inspiration was Dikembe Mu- rules or anything. We just ran around in big in the U.S., Yao never lost sight of his goal of making a difference back home. Since returning to China he’s revamped “i believe that making eye contact, the operation of the , finan- cially struggling when he bought the team face-to-face, heart-to-heart, is the in 2009. He’s been an advocate for better only way that can change things.” training and wages and for broadening the fan base, and many expect him to quickly scale up the CBA now that’s he’s president. tombo, another barrier-breaking big man circles. Then the coach [sent by the founda- He likens the league to the NBA decades who also played for the Rockets. Mutombo tion] came and we learned the right way.” ago, when some teams were insolvent has been a force in his native Congo, build- Added Yao after the games ended: “Seeing and lacked a strong following. “It will take ing hospitals and providing scholarships. how this impacts children makes me happy. time,” he says, “but I believe we have a good “Mutombo taught me about the entire idea, Sports can change people’s lives.” window now. The owners are mobilizing to the philosophy, doing it on a different level,” Yao says he had been researching laws make changes.” says Yao. “It’s about management. That and planning to launch his foundation after In Yao’s time, players were poorly paid makes this more efficient. And efficiency the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. Then an and lacked many perks. Games rarely at- allows us to help more people.” In fact, he’s earthquake struck Sichuan Province, and tracted more than a few hundred fans when studying management. Basketball side- Yao leapt into action. “I had already planned I first saw Yao play while based in China tracked his education, so he’s returned to to do something for schools, but this just in 2000 to 2005. Gyms were decrepit and school, taking courses for an undergradu- sped it up.” His group began building smoke-filled, and travel was a long haul by ate degree. He plans to earn an advanced schools: 21 are now finished. “But I realized bus. Players shared rooms or bunked in degree in business and management. that building schools isn’t what we do best,” dorms. Hessler recalls that Yao couldn’t fit His business interests involve myriad he says. “Basketball is our specialty.” on a standard bed, so he pushed a cabinet partnerships and endorsements, and he Many believe that he’s just getting alongside his bunk to support his lengthy has a sports management company. With started. “Yao has always embraced the role frame. “He never complained.” his election as CBA president, many see of ‘Great power requires great responsibil- China made tremendous demands on parallels to , who helped take ity,’ ” says Rhoads, who has watched Yao Yao, which many think compounded his the NBA to new heights. Yao will be taking firsthand from the start. “The next 10 to 20 injuries and shortened his career. Serv- “the CBA from an SOE [state-owned enter- years will further solidify his status as per- ing team and country, he kept an insane prise], essentially privatizing Asia’s largest haps China’s greatest sports leader.” F

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