Despite fears that he would leave China behind, basketball legend Yao Ming always planned to come back and use his fame and fortune for philanthropy
Bringing hoop dreams to poor kids in China: “What Yao Ming is doing in China is awesome.”
Yao Ming seemed omnipresent in 2009. A superstar with the Houston Rockets, China’s premier basketball player peered out from hundreds of billboards across his hometown of Shanghai. But this was no game. His mission: Saving sharks.
Shark fin soup had long been a popular splurge in China. Rising affluence put the delicacy on tables across the mainland, boosting kills from 70 million to 100 million annually. Many species were threatened with extinction.
Conservation groups sought to wean China from this habit but without luck. Then WildAid drafted Yao as the spokesman for its campaign. “Say no to shark’s fin soup!” urged Yao, and China listened. Shark quickly dropped off menus. “It went down 60 percent, so that was pretty good,” recalls Yao modestly. Others call it one of the most effective environmental campaigns ever.
A few years later, Yao turned to another crusade—the fight against ivory trade. Ivory carvings are dear to the Chinese, encouraging the plunder of elephants. Although outlawed across Africa, poachers outgun park rangers and slaughter animals. Animal rights groups pressed for bans on trading ivory, with mixed results. As the trade moved underground, Yao put his huge frame and even bigger fame on the line, travelling to Africa. A documentary was made, and photos of the 7-foot-6 star frolicking with a baby elephant went viral. “I believe it’s important to get involved,” he said. Wildlife groups believe that the campaign rapidly raised awareness and led the government to further restrict the market for ivory.
Chinese stars regularly figure in national causes, but few had leveraged their celebrity to personally challenge society. And few are as celebrated as Yao, China’s most famous athlete. Surveys say Yao, 36, is even more famous in China than Chairman Mao. A perennial All-Star, injuries curtailed his career in North America’s National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2011, but he remains intensely involved in sports in China. Returning to Shanghai, he bought the Sharks basketball team that he played for as a teen. In February, he was elected president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
Yao has never sought the spotlight. So it’s no surprise to find that his Yao Foundation is little known—unless you are a poor kid in some Chinese backwater. Then Yao not only fuels your hoop dreams, but he may also be the sports saint providing your basketball court, shoes and sports training.
“ I believe making eye contact, face-to-face, heart-to-heart, is the only way that can change things.
(This story appears in the 04 August, 2017 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)