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Shaq sidesteps officials to dunk one for Chinese fans

By Cui Xiaohuo (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-17 09:19

He gave four of his teenaged Chinese fans an autographed basketball each, only to have school authorities confiscate the students' dream gifts.

But NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal Thursday showed his heart was as big as his stature when he sent his four fans new balls to keep.

The 7-foot-1, 325-pound Cleveland Cavaliers center first met the students for a friendly round on the court at the Mianyang Elementary Middle School in quake-hit Sichuan province on Tuesday, as part of his five-day trip to China.

The teens and their families reportedly clashed with school officials after they seized the gifts from the students.

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"I want to tell them that I like them, and I don't want them to cry over this. This is not where men weep their tears," the 37-year-old four-time NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist told reporters before leaving the country yesterday.

The four teen players smiled over the O'Neal autographs on their new balls yesterday when agents of the NBA star went to the school again and offered them their second-round presents.

"I treasure the hero's gift even more now," said Li Feng, one of the boys who was brought to tears by the school's move on Tuesday.

School officials said they confiscated the balls because they wanted to keep them as school exhibits to encourage more students to "learn from the spirit of an NBA star".

Not all have accepted the school's explanation.

"It's the old bureaucracy style. The school leaders must have taken the balls and given them to their own children," one online user who went by the name "Yup Pie", posted on popular website Sohu.com.

The school yesterday dismissed claims that the gifts were used for "private purposes".

Still, a survey on information portal Xinhuanet found more than 90 percent of the 3,200 respondents said the school "had no right to confiscate O'Neal's gifts to the students".

The official Xinhua News Agency also ran a story on how parents clashed with school authorities after they found their children being "unfairly treated".

O'Neal himself said he did not expect such unhappiness to occur over the matter.

"I never thought it would be like this. I can imagine how disappointed the boys must be," he said.

Educators said it is likely the Mianyang school, an elite institution in the region, valued its reputation so much that it neglected the feelings of its own students.