Bisher doesn't seem to like the fact that Daisuke Matsuzaka, "who didn't grow up in Wampole," was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox, and he makes several more xenophobic references throughout a column that does make some valid criticisms of the influence of big money on baseball.
Baseball in Japan Not a Hit for Atlanta columnist
My former colleague Kerwin Berk blows some holes in Bisher's logic in this column posted on the Asian American Journalists Association website. The AAJA also sent a letter to the Journal-Constitution's editors criticizing Furman's column.
Some great points made by Berk:
"Using Mr. Bisher's logic, Atlanta should never have been awarded the 1996 Olympic Games because of Georgia's history of slavery and segregation."
"I can only assume Mr. Bisher was outraged when Dirk Nowitzki, a German, won the NBA's MVP award for the 2006-2007. If my memory serves me correctly, we fought Germany in World War II. I'm sure Mr. Bisher didn't forget to mention Auschwitz when writing about Nowitzki."
It's hard to say if Bisher is racist but I would say his column was written from the point of view of someone who has a narrow, antiquated view of what it means to be American.
Categories:
Contributor:
Harry Mok
Editor in chief
Editor in Chief Harry Mok wrote about growing up on a Chinese vegetable farm for the second issue of Hyphen and has been a volunteer editor since 2004. As a board member of the San Francisco and New York chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association, Harry has recruited and organized events for student members. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also a graduate student instructor in the Asian American Studies Department.
- Read more about Baseball in Japan Not a Hit for Atlanta columnist
- Google+
- Forward
- Print HTML
- 3 comments
Comments