By I may not be a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but I am a big fan of the off the field work that Hines Ward continues to carry out with his Helping Hands Foundation:
Steelers receiver Hines Ward surrounded himself with old friends at the dinner table on a recent Saturday night. The bond was as obvious as the look on everyone’s faces — half Korean, half something else. The shared experience was far more than skin deep.
There was a boy who was bullied into depression and tried to commit suicide. There was a girl ordered by a teacher to keep her hair pulled back tight, to straighten the natural curls she inherited from her black father. There was another too intimidated by her taunting classmates to board the bus, choosing instead the humiliating and lonely walk to school. There were the boys who were beaten regularly and teased mercilessly. There were college-age girls who broke into tears when telling their stories of growing up biracial in South Korea.
But when they looked around the table, they saw familiarity. And a future.
“It is so special that no one is staring at me, and no one is asking me about my hair,” Lisa So, 20, said. “It gives me hope.”
The eight boys and girls, between 16 and 21, were visiting Ward from South Korea, where people of mixed races are considered everything from a curiosity to an abomination. What starts with teasing from childhood peers often turns to widespread ostracism and discrimination. It eventually leads to higher dropout, poverty and suicide rates. [New York Times via Brian in Jeollanam-do]
Make sure to read the whole thing to include Brian’s link about the good work Hines Ward has been doing with biracial Korean kids.
What I admire about Hines Ward is that he has been staying very active with his Helping Hands Foundation for the past three years since his Super Bowl MVP award skyrocketed him to fame in South Korea. He has used this fame in order to provide a postive impact for a number of biracial children in South Korea.
I once served as a background source for a Newsweek article on Hines Ward and here is a passage from the article that I found interesting:
Some Korean-American activists have also complained about the fact that Ward hasn’t contributed to the community yet. If he’s going to be a role model, he should do something for the community, gripes a representative of one Korean-American youth group.
I wonder what this Korean-American activist is thinking now? I just found it ironic that the same Korean-American groups that shunned Hines Ward when he was younger were making demands of him once he was famous. Maybe some of these Korean-Americans are not a whole lot different from their peers back in Korea?
5:54 am on November 19th, 2009 1
All sports stars should take a page out of Hines book, what a classy guy.
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November 20th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Yes, he’s a good man.
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November 20th, 2009 at 2:34 am
his NFL colleagues don’t think so! (see my links below). Why didn’t the Korean media pick up on this???
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6:51 am on November 19th, 2009 2
He is a nice hyena
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7:32 am on November 19th, 2009 3
I’m crying….
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8:48 am on November 19th, 2009 4
I would like to think Korean-Americans are different from korean nationals about the whole biracial thing, but I don’t think they are. Probably more so than korean natioanls, but not much.
Hines Ward’s mother can tell you more about korean natioanls and Korean-Americans attitude, I mean hell, she told him not to hang around korean kids when he was younger!
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8:50 am on November 19th, 2009 5
This shows you korean hypocrisy
http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/04/06/hines-wards-mom-releases-a-bit-of-han/
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11:08 am on November 19th, 2009 6
Last year there was mention of making a movie from his mother’s perspective.
http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2008/12/hines-ward-movie-coming-out.html
I wonder if the producers still think it’s such a good idea? Would they dare truly represent her experience and sentiments? The tentative title of the movie was to be something like “My Mother.”
Would South Koreans and first generation Korean Americans empathize with or even sympathize with her story as they did with the protagonist of the movie “My Father?” Or, would she and her story turn into a subject of criticism for publicly airing such dirty laundry?
We may see.
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6:58 pm on November 19th, 2009 7
I talked to a Korean lady who’s brother in law hates her because she’s supposedly of the same blood line (or something just as ridiculous) as his family. He vehemently opposed his brother to marry her. She’s the sweetest lady in the world but whenever she has to have contact with her brother in law he makes her cry. I live here in Korea and they must be the most Xenophobic people on the planet. Even though Korea is getting more modern every day I seriously doubt they’ll get over their xenophobia within a generation or two.
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7:53 pm on November 19th, 2009 8
I read in the last week or so that Hines Ward was recently voted dirtiest (as in late hits, cheap shots, unsportsmanlike conduct, etc) player in the NFL. Of course, the Korean media didn’t mention this (to my knowledge).
Maybe this biracial kid program he has going is being done to spin his image in a more positive light??
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November 19th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Psst…I have a little secret to let you in on…Hines ward is a receiver/back…and as such…doesn’t really do any hitting…late or otherwise.
But since you this is something “you read in the last week or so,” you should easily be able to find and post the link to it.
So by all means – please oblige us with that link.
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November 20th, 2009 at 2:16 am
You must admit, it would be pretty interesting if a receiver strated hitting, especially if its a 185lbs one. Sure, he’d have a very short career if he did. But, it would be a very entertaining one.
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November 20th, 2009 at 2:31 am
check out my links below if you still think I’m wrong
12:15 am on November 20th, 2009 9
http://www.sportsfilter.com/news/13742/nfls-dirtiest-player-hines-ward
Just Google it like I did and take your pick of articles about his terrible conduct (but I’ve linked one for your benefit)
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12:26 am on November 20th, 2009 10
The fact that a receiver got the award is what makes it so shocking, don’t you agree? Ever heard of blocking receivers? (thanks for pointing out that he is a receiver by the way; I don’t follow the NFL very much nowadays).
Maybe you think the award is unfair, but do you think you know more than the 296 NFL players who voted for him to receive this disgraceful award??
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November 20th, 2009 at 11:15 am
“disgraceful award?” Never put the pads on did ya!
What would be a disgrace would be if his name wasn’t on the list.
Go Steelers!!! HIT SOMEBODY!!! As a Receiver, if you don’t catch the pass, you block for the guy that did. It is called WINNING THE GAME!
Back to the story, he is doing good work for people that need the help.
Good thing there is an America, or he would be one of them.
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1:25 am on November 20th, 2009 11
It was a close vote, though.
He was only one vote ahead of the ajuma trying to get on the elevator as everyone else was trying to get off.
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November 20th, 2009 at 11:17 am
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2:29 am on November 20th, 2009 12
And if my prior link wasn’t good enough for you check out the Sports Illustrated link:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/11/04/dirty/index.html
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6:02 am on November 20th, 2009 13
Since I’ve lived overseas for many years, I haven’t been following the NFL closely for a long time. But I will make a couple of observations on the game, then and now.
First of all, I had only seen Hines Ward play on TV a few times and hadn’t paid close attention. My impression was he was a big, strong aggressive receiver. I don’t know how big he is, but he played big. I thought he was a tight-end. Tight-ends are supposed to be blocking-receivers. Big, strong, fast and have good hands, but half of their responsibility is to block and make way for other ball carriers. But that’s not just a role player’s responsibility. Every player on offence knows it’s their job to block for the ball carrier. Some do it half-ass. Hines Ward seems to take it seriously.
Now that I know he is a wide receiver, I can understand part of the issue. He would most often run deep, but after a running back breaks through the line or another receiver get a short pass his responsibility would be to come back up filed and block for them; most likely coming from behind or from the side of the defensive player he must take out.
The rules make most hits to the back or side of illegal. A fast aggressive player closing great distance with a load of momentum will have difficulty making split second adjustments and will make illegal and late hits. But very often, he will also make the great plays.
Thirty years ago, you couldn’t get enough of Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers smash mouth football. Incredible hits. Guys pin-wheeling in the air. Guys playing with broken bones. Now, not so much. Teams have got to protect their investments in multi-million dollar players. Nobody can afford to get hurt.
With all the new rules, what is called dirty play today was appreciated as good, intense and aggressive play back then. I think something was lost.
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November 20th, 2009 at 9:41 am
“Nobody can afford to get hurt.”
I’m not so sure. I remember reading a few years back that the average career in the NFL is less than 4 years, I would imagine because of injuries. Still is, apparently.
It’s not that nobody can afford to get hurt, but rather that they’d lose big if they quit. Star players stick around long after their bodies have given out (we all know about Joe Namath’s knees, for example).
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November 20th, 2009 at 11:27 am
“Still is apparently.”
Apparently is not the word I would use. Many last 10 – 13 years.
Many do not of course. But to call the average at 4 years?
I would have to look into that.
Either way, at a million a year and often much more, I’ll take bad knees in exchange for a few million. Hell, I have bad knees NOW.
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7:22 am on November 20th, 2009 14
Where’s Tom? Why isn’t he commenting on his people’s hypocrisy?
Guess even he can’t deny the truth on this one.
Why weren’t koreans calling him “korean” when he got drafted anyway?
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November 20th, 2009 at 7:47 am
What´s your problems with Koreans?
Koreans are hypocrites? Man, you are late to the discussion.
Since expat’s blogs in Korea exist, that has been the most debated subject there. Please bring something new for discussion.
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10:38 pm on January 17th, 2010 15
searching for a ghostwriter (want biratial) contact me idea
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January 17th, 2010 at 11:46 pm
I can see you definitely might need one.
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January 18th, 2010 at 3:11 am
So she needs someone who works at two different pay rates…what’s the big deal?
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4:14 am on January 18th, 2010 16
“searching for a ghostwriter”
It was a dark and stormy night. A violent wind howled through jagged trees and mixed with the howls of distant wolves.
When the wind calmed, a thin mist crept over the cemetery walls and spilled through the iron bars of its rusted gate.
The mist settled in a low spot by the stone path and swirled intently for a few minutes. Then it raised up and formed a cloudy human shape with arms outstretched and ragged holes where the eyes and mouth should have been.
“Booooo!” it said, rather unenthusiastically… as if practicing.
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