by jay
Grace park is korean. Not asian american. Get the fact straight.

by arnie
Get your facts straight Jay. While she was born in Korea, she grew up in the states and played all her Junior Golf in the U.S. She was AJGA player of the year for multiple years. And she is full time resident of Phoenix, Arizona. Do a little research on some of the national Asian-American organizations and you will find her referred to repeatedly as an 'Asian American' and specifically separated from people like Se Ri Pak who is Asian. This is a stupid distinction to begin with. My point was that Michelle Wie is not carrying the mantle for her race, as many Asian and Asian American athletes have been successful on the highest levels of professional sports, including domination by Asian and Asian American female golfers in both the amateur and pro ranks.

by RioRules
Hey y'all...
Do not forget that the greatest playing golfer in the world is also Asian-American; his name is Tiger Woods.

by jay
Arnie. How can you insist grace park is asian american? she was born in korea and she never acquired US citizenship. She has been living in US for quite a long time but if that's the case, Sorenstam should be american too, right?
Fact is grace park is korean. not american. and grace is my fellow korean, so it would be funny if you keep insisting grace is asian american.

by arnie
Semantics, you say tomatoe, I say tomato. Interesting that if you do a little research on the most prominent national Asian American organization sites, you will see her referred to as an example of one of the leading Asian AMERICANS in sports, along with many others. I would guess this has something to do with the fact that she has lived more of her life in the US than Korea, graduated from ASU and lives her full time. But hey, we'll call her simply Asian if it makes you feel better. Now let's rant about how Asian-AMERICANS aren't represented enough in society! Then we'll move on the Croatian-Americans, Swedish-Americans, Italian-Americans...

by ginny
actually, "asian-american", by definition, does specifically refer to those american citizens of asian decent. and in fact, being asian and being asian-american are two completely different things (with reference to experiences, relationships with family and friends, culture, etc). i say this from my own experiences, as an asian-american myself, and also after having taken a few courses in asian-american studies in college.
so, by definition, grace park is asian, and michelle wie is asian-american. on paper the two might not be so different, but in my opinion there is a big difference. michelle wie represents the US when she plays. grace park represents korea. grace park might be living in the US, but because she doesn't represent the US when she plays and is not an american citizen, she doesn't have the same impact and appeal on other asian-americans and americans as michelle wie does.
i'm not going to delve into the other specific argument(s) going on here. just putting in my two cents.

by Jill
Real mature there arnie!!
Don't try to speak for people of color again since you don't know anything about it.
The more you write the more you show your ignorance...
Yeah--there are just soooo much Asian American representation on the media--so much so that a recent study by UCLA says only 2 percent of people shown in the media are of Asian descent.
You're the arrogant jerk pretending you know so much about Asian American issues--when you have ZERO authority to talk about it.
The fact that you can name every Asian American person that the sports media has covered in one paragraph speaks to how sad the situation is.
Has anyone of these people been on the cover of sports magazines, or signed large contracts with various companies-- Unfortunately NO-- and Michelle Wie can change that.
Just because you can name a few Asian American athletes doesn't mean there isn't a dearth of minority athlete representation.
Unfortunately, there are people like you that hold up the few people of color getting media attentin as tokens then pretend no problems exist.

by arnie
I just had to re-read your post. You actually wrote "Unfortunately, there are people like you that hold up the few people of color getting media attentin as tokens then pretend no problems exist. "
WTF? Where in my post did you conclude that? Are you one of those whiny, ultra PC liberals who looks for the negative/racist/sexist angle in everything and jumps to conclusions? Sure seems like it. Where did I say she was a 'token'? Do your brain cells actually work together or are they each doing there own thing in that little ant brain of yours?
I was praising the Asian Americans that have been successful.

by JIll
Arnie
Its useless to argue with you since you're obviously an angry uneducated person.
You are the last person in the world to decide if someone is breaking barriers for their race. Michelle is breaking barriers for her race and her gender.
She will be receiving unprecedented deals with sports companies, clothing companies, cosmetics companies etc... when she turns pro. Can you name another Asian Amercan athlete that has that ? No
Michelle Kwan and Michael Chang for all their accomplishments never was on the cover of Sports Illustrated or signed any BIG endorsement deals.
The fact that you have an Asian American athlete getting Lebron James type attention is a first. Therefore she is a pioneer.
Its very telling of you that you misunderstood the "token" comment.
You're obviously lived a sheltered life and never got out much.

by ang
serriously people..golf is fun, but dont you think that we put to much emphasis on sports in the US? i think that we all have to remember that she is still a child. to much build up with a chance that she might falter. i think instead of causing a "highschool" rivalry, lets just support the kids playing golf. They are all 'carrying the mantle for ther race'

by arnie
I have no anger issues lady, except when I'm called a racist or uneducated, which I'm neither. I'll end this debate and let you get back to your little fantasy world.
Anyway, I think you convinced me. I now understand that pulling down millions in endorsement dollars for personal gain is really 'carrying the mantle for her race.'

by arnie
Classic! I knew this would deteriorate into a PC rant, as just about every Wie supporter on these blogs thinks anyone who says anything less than glowing about her is a racist. Go back and read my original post and what I said you moron.
My post was not criticising her race or claiming there was not an underrepresentation of minorities in sports. My point was that the media types who claim she's breaking race barriers need to open their eyes and realize that the horse has left the barn. Michelle Wie is promoting one person, herself.

by arnie
The most laughable argument made by the Wie enamored media is that she's carrying the mantle for her race. I'm guessing that would probably be news to all the talented Asian women who have been so successful on the LPGA tour the last decade. Quick, somebody call these media idiots and introduce them to the likes of Se Ri Pak, Grace Park, Christina Kim, and any other Asian woman on the LPGA tour.

by Mr. Small Rain
lots of people say that Michelle must learn how to win. I think they made a good point. But...
I agreeed that winning breeds winning. But it is not necessary to win lots of Amateur titles to win professionals.
History show that winning can be larned anywhere. Only thing you need is ability to win.
If you don't believe, please compare the records of Sean O'Hair and recent Amateur Champion(s).
Mr. Small Rain

by Cheryl
Well written article Tim.
However, please do not paint Wie fans with that broad brush, I'm certain most of her fans are not as fanatic as you say.
Also, you forget to write that many of the angry responses by Wie fans were to counteract extremely irresponsible articles by your colleague Chris Baldwin. I would hope that you would be more fair and take him to task as well.
Michelle has played in all the LPGA majors and a few other LPGA events.
while playing in only 3 tournaments with the men. She has played with the women twice more than she has with the men.
That is hardly ignoring the women's game, and being disrespectful to the LPGA elders.
I see her as someone just following her dream, its a shame there are jealous and ignorant folks out there that are trying to derail her.