May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and UNANIMO Deportes joins in the celebration over 31 days, presenting Asian-Latino athletes who have stood out in their respective sports.
Who makes up the Asian American and Pacific Islander community?
This term refers to all people of Asian origin, whether by birth, descent, or naturalization, many who have lived in the United States for more than four centuries, since the first record of their arrival dates from 1587 when many Filipinos settled in California, while it was a Spanish territory.
Among those athletes is Hines Ward, one of the best receivers in the history in the NFL, who was born in South Korea, to the youngest coach in the history of the NBA, Erick Spoelstra, of Filipino descent, part of that 6% of the American population (21 million) of Asian origin.
Victims of discrimination by Covid-19
As a result of the global pandemic caused by Covid-19 – which according to the historical record arose in Wuhan, China, after an initial report of 27 cases of “pneumonia of unknown etiology” on December 31, 2019 – the Asian community has fallen victim to discrimination and multiple violent continuing attacks here in the United States.
The Asian-American athletic community has raised its voice and called for peace and reflection for all xenophobic attacks to stop, to bring to reason the hate speech and racism and that prevails among all ethnicities that make up American society: #StopAsianHate.
Asian-Americans in sport
Outstanding Asians in the sports world include such figures as the Filipino Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao, the only boxer in history to have won nine world titles in eight different categories; Chinese diver Wu Minxia, who has 7 Olympic medals under his belt (5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze); and Korean soccer star Cha Bum-kun, who scored 98 goals in 308 games for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen and was part of two UEFA Championship Cups.
In the United States racial bias against Asian-Americans starts at college sports (NCAA).
According to Stan Thangaraj, anthropology professor at The City University of New York, most organized sports in the US “do not provide tutoring to athletes of Asian descent because they do not consider them to be true athletes. They are perceived as excellent students”.
Specialized portals such as Statista, Infogram and Football Reference reflect low numbers of Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islanders in American sports and professional leagues
LEAGUE |
% OF ASIAN-AMERICANS |
MLB |
2.9% |
NFL |
1.9% |
NHL |
1.0 |
MLS |
0.7% |
NBA |
0.4% |
Asian-Latinos and sports
A report by the Asian Development Bank (ADV) shows that Asia is the continent with the largest number of immigrants in the world. One out of three expatriates come from this region.
COUNTRY |
ASIAN IMMIGRANTS |
Brazil |
2,200,000 |
Perú |
1,660,000 |
Venezuela |
500,000 |
México |
371,000 |
Argentina |
344,200 |
Colombia |
214,000 |
Panamá |
160,000 |
Cuba |
150,000 |
Guatemala |
138,000 |
Honduras |
67,200 |
Latin American countries have welcomed Asian immigrants with open arms, who have broadened their culture, boosted the economy with their workforce and businesses, as they are integrated into society for generations, while boosting their athletic pool.
Asian-Latino athletes have also left their mark, as in the case of Pablo Larios Iwasaki, a Mexican with Japanese roots who was the goalkeeper for México in the 1986 World Cup in México. He also won a first division championship with the Club Puebla.
Chinese-Panamanian baseball player Bruce Chen spent 17 seasons in the major leagues and played for 11 teams, including the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. He had 82 victories as a Major League Baseball pitcher, tying Mariano Rivera’s record for the most wins for a Panamanian player. He also pitched in the World Classic for Panama and China due to his dual sports citizenship.
Lyoto ‘The Dragon’ Machida, a Brazilian-Japanese Martial Arts expert and former UFC light heavyweight champion, also stands out as he compiled a record of 26-8 in major fights.
Fencer Paola Pliego’s case is sui generis. She is Mexican by birth, however the Mexican Fencing Federation, arguing a false doping result, prevented her from competing in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. After recovering from that hard emotional blow, she has decided to compete under the Uzbekistan flag in Tokyo 2021.
These figures, as well as others will be highlighted during the ‘Asian-American and Pacific Island Heritage Month‘. #StopAsianHate.