Yao Ming Experiences the Pitfalls of Being a Celebrity
January 17th, 2007 by dd
This has not been a good season for Yao Ming. First Yao who plays for the Houston Rockets is sidelined for six weeks after fracturing the bone under his right knee. Ouch! Next comes an internet report linking him to American film and TV actress, Nia Long. Best known for her portrayal as Will Smith’s girlfriend in “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”, Yao read the news that he was romantically involved with the 5ft 2in actress while surfing the ‘net with his girlfriend, Ye Li, by his side. Ye, 6ft 2in to Yao’s 7ft 6in frame, is a centre for China’s female basketball team. Yao immediately dismissed the story as “ridiculous”.
Nia Long, Yao’s “reported” love interest
As if that weren’t enough, reports have emerged that someone has hijacked his name! A woman from China who calls herself Jin registered “Yao Ming” as a domain address at a China Mobile network.
Domain address registration is potentially hugely profitable, considering the huge market of 455 million Chinese mobile phone users.
Jin said she did not do it for profit but to protect Yao, China Youth Daily quoted her as saying “[she is willing to] give up the registration if Yao gives her a hug and his signature. I want to keep Yao’s name from being misused just like everyone else. That’s why I registered his name ahead of those who want to take advantage of it,”
And to add insult upon injury, it was registered as a brand for sanitary pads. And it’s only January… [ChinaDaily]
