Shaq, Yao and Race

This is going to be a little bit of a long post, so let me apologize for that upfront. If you've interacted with me for long on this, or other discussion forums online, then you know that I am a person of color, and that I have strong views about race and racism in the United States. Let me share a couple other things with you. I am an Army brat. My father served nearly 30 years in the Army; he fought in WWII, and Korea. He got out just before they were going to send him to Vietnam - felt as if his number was going to come up. My mother is Filipino - they met during the Japanese invasion of the Phillipines.
That may add some useful backdrop when I tell you that I am sickened by Shaq's comments about Yao. You'd think that this could not come out of the mouth of an intelligent black man. Incidentally, that may be part of the problem - the character of Shaquille O'Neal. I first saw him trying to pick up young female Army recruits when his father was stationed in Ft Sam Houston Texas in 1991, before Shaq went pro. He struck me then as a loudmouthed, stupid, self-centered bully, and he's done nothing since to change that perception. Anyway, we've all witnessed the firestorm that arose out of Lott's recent fiasco, and as a matter of fact, when just about any person of note makes comments that are racially insensitive. We as people of color should not accept Shaq's dismissive half-apology so easily because he's black. We as Americans should not feel comfortable with his profession that this was "just a joke" that the media is "trying to make a race war" out of.
He says "anyone that knows him" should know that he meant no harm - isn't that what Lott said? He says that his backround as an Army brat should clue us in that he's far too hip to racial matters, having lived with Asians and all kinds of ethnicities, to be held to some kind of silly standard about what is and isn't acceptable public dialogue.
But I am offended. I am always offended, as a fairly good basketball forward in my time, when Shaq dunks on someone, then feels he has to enphasize it by launching a stream of (clear to anyone who can barely lipread) expletives all the way back down court. But I am offended by this latest episode, because he is possibly the most famous athlete in America today, and he should not be allowed to so easily dismiss such asinine comments about a member of perhaps the biggest racial population on the planet. And Yao Ming is, for all I've seen, a gentleman who might bring much needed grace, diversity and maturity to my beloved sport. And even if he's not, we all diminish ourselves if someone like this can say something like this because he's a multimillion dollar franchise, and makes great revenue for alot of powerful people. If this had been anyone saying something that sounded slightly derogatory about blacks with Shaq's name attached, we know that it would be jumped on. In fairness, this should not be allowed to pass with so much less difficulty.