It is easy to forget that professional sports are international and that English may be a second or third language for many athletes. Frequently, foreign golfers, tennis players, and skiers speak eloquently when they are elevated to the podium to be receive their championship trophies and speak about their accomplishments. It is easy to forget that not everyone speaks English.
It is fairly easy to have an interpretter for individual sports. How does a coach communicate when he wants a basketball player to set a screen or play shortstop instead of second base, particularly if players on the team are from several different nationalities?
The December 22, 2009 Daily Camera published a quote on this topic attributed to Esquire magazine. Houston Rockets center Yao Ming was quoted, “I haven’t done much trash-talking. But last year, I did complain about a call. Nobody could believe it. So I said, ‘I’ve spent a lot on English lessons. I want to get my money’s worth.'”
Ming’s humorous comment on raises some interesting questions:
• What is being done by recreation programs and coaches to reduce the impact of the language barriers on their players?
• How many world-class athletes cannot advance to the next level because of language barriers?
• If this is occurring, what can be done to reduce the number of athletes lost in the process because of language barriers?
• Should players be required to speak English before participating in U.S. professional leagues? Should teams be required to have interpretters?
If nothing else, Ming’s comment illustrates how U.S. professional sports have become international.