Spain’s Olympic men’s basketball team recently posed for a very controversial advertisement. The photo features the entire basketball team pulling at the skin of their eyelids, intentionally mimicking Chinese facial features.

Despite much criticism from the media and from Chinese-rights organizations, pro Spanish basketball player Jose Calderon didn’t see any problem with the photo:

One of our sponsors asked us to make, as a 'wink' to our participation in Beijing, an expression of Eastern eyes. We felt it was something appropriate and that it would always be interpreted as an affectionate gesture. ... Whoever wants to interpret it differently is completely confusing it.

Other team players and supporters have publicly defended the advertisement, claiming that it’s not racist.

But the image has already proven to be a public relations disaster, further rocking Spain's shaky history of racist behavior in sports. [In 2004, FIFA fined the Spanish Football Federation $90,000 after fans shouted racist comments at some Black players on the English team.]

Okay, so they made a mistake—a big mistake. An appropriate course of action would be to make a public apology. But no one on the team has suggested even the slightest bit of remorse. Instead they’ve chosen to pretend that mocking Asian facial features is in some way “honoring” the Chinese.

Why then, are Chinese-rights organizations upset about the photo? Shouldn’t they feel honored, perhaps in the same way that African Americans should have felt “honored” when whites rubbed charcoal on their faces and imitated Black culture in minstrel shows?

African Americans were never consulted about their feelings regarding Black representation in atrociously racist and derogatory minstrel shows. Similarly, I doubt that Spain’s basketball team bothered to ask any Chinese person for her or his thoughts on the photo.

I find it deeply disturbing that no one stood up and said, “Hey guys, I’m not so sure about this.” It makes me very sad to hear that these athletes have refused to take accountability for their actions.

What do you all think?

I didn't catch the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics on Friday, but I've sure been reading about a whole lot today. A beautiful little girl, Lin Miaoke, performed "Ode to the Motherland" in a gorgeous, crystal-clear voice as China's flag was proudly displayed in the National Stadium. I could almost put aside the politics and conflicts around the Beijing Olympics for a second and enjoy this little girl singing for her country with such a sweet voice. Too bad that little girl wasn't singing at all!

The girl with the beautiful voice is actually Yang Peiyi, who Chinese officials decided at the last minute was not cute enough to represent China on the world stage. Seriously, China? You don't have enough drama going on right now, what with people protesting internationally against your human rights violations and media censorship? You have to add a little fuel to the fire by telling a 7-year-old girl she's ugly and fat? Maybe you should just steal an old lady's purse or kick a puppy or something. Then maybe your popularity will go up.

This little charade is just representative of the way China operates, trying to disguise reality with a glossy, pretty, dishonest facade. The world is already watching China to see if the Beijing Olympics will motivate any kind of social change-- even the slightest bit of sketchiness makes activists more unwilling to trust the Chinese government.

What do you guys think about this? (And for the record, Yang Peiyi, I think you're beautiful and you sing like an angel.)