Foot Problems Sideline Basketball's Ming

Yao Ming who captured American basketball hearts when he was the No. 1 in the 2002 NBA draft retired from American basketball on July 20th. During a news conference in Shanghai the 7 foot 6 inch tall player told journalists that foot and ankle fractures were keeping him from the game. He had played just five games in the past two seasons. Yao is only 30 years old.

Ming is not only an icon in China, but across the world as well. While playing for the Washington Wizards, Ming also anchored the national team in China. His sponsorship deals included Apple, Inc., Reebok International, Coca-Cola Co., T-Mobile USA Inc., and McDonald's Corp. The Yao Ming Foundation donated $2 million to victims of the 2008 earthquake in China's Sichuan province and was an advocate against AIDS discrimination in China. Ming was ranked the fifth highest paid non-US athlete in the world, making $36 million a year.

Ming will continue his career with the Shanghai Sharks, a team which he owns and played with early in his career. He carried China's flag in the Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing in 2008.

One of the first breaks came in February 2008, but Ming still played in the Olympic games that summer. Later, the same foot was fractured in the third game of the Rockets-Los Angeles Lakers Western Conference semifinal in 2009.

Ming is the son of two professional basketball players and is married to Ye Li, a former women's national player. They have one daughter.

Talk has recently circulated that Ming could be entered in the Basketball Hall of Fame within the next couple of years, but Ming has told them to put off the nomination.
Dr. Tina A. Boucher, DPM
Central Connecticut Foot Care, LLC
Podiatrist Meriden CT
http://www.centralctfootcare.com/
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