Houston Community News >> Yao Ambassador to Special Olympics

7/23/2006 Houston-- Chinese NBA star Yao Ming has been named Goodwill Ambassador to the Shanghai Special Olympic Games in 2007.

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Houston Rockets center Yao appeared at a press conference here on Friday afternoon, launching a series of public service announcements promoting the Special Olympics. "The mentally-retarded people need more attention from the society. These athletes move me a lot with their effort and courage," said the 2.26m Shanghai native.

Yao was left home nursing a foot injury while his teammates are on a European tour building up for the World Championship in Japan in August. The Chinese team lost their warm-up match to Lithuania 96-75 on Friday in Strasbourg, France.