Athletes of Asian ancestry, regardless of whether they immigrate or are American-born, can help APIs in the general population become less isolated, says Dr. Richard Lapchick, who chairs the University of Central Florida’s sport business management department. As an example, when Chan Ho Park left South Korea to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994, Korean-Americans turned out in droves for the games. That may have helped Koreans heal, Lapchick says, from the 1992 Los Angeles riots, when much of that city’s Koreatown was looted and burned. Trips to the ballpark brought Koreans back into mainstream society, if only for a few hours at a time. “So many of us isolate ourselves residentially that it takes something like sports for us to get out among the general population,” Lapchick says.
The Tings, meanwhile, plan to graduate in May and are considering postgraduate options, including medical school. Their academic decisions will determine whether they’ll have enough time to play for the Trojans in the fall, which marks their final year of eligibility. For now, though, Brandon explains their satisfaction with football this way: “If we somehow influence another Asian kid — or anyone of another color — to play ball, that’s great.”
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
