PebHmong Discussion Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: theking on August 15, 2022, 10:57:35 PM
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Gonzaga’s Truong sisters fight against stereotypes, look to empower younger generations of Asian American athletes
When Gonzaga basketball stars Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong signed a name, image and likeness deal this summer, it wasn’t about the money.
Rather, this was a chance to give something back by sharing their story. It’s a tale of two Asian American girls who found success in classroom but also on the court.
Apparently, that was hard to handle for some people, because as Kayleigh points out, “We don’t look like everyone else on the court.”
Twin daughters of Vietnamese immigrants, the Truongs have played most of their lives against a full-court press of ignorance, left-handed compliments and outright prejudice.
During her junior year of high school in her hometown of Houston, Kaylynne was celebrating a playoff-clinching win over a major rival when one of the referees approached and inquired about her college plans.
“Are you going to play D2 or D3?” the man asked.
Trung was stunned.
She had a third option – Division 1 – which somehow didn’t fit the man’s preconceived notion that Asian American athletes aren’t quite good enough.
“I will never forget the way he reacted to my answer,” Kaylynne wrote in “Defying the Odds,” a recent perspective piece for Sideline Post.
“He looked at me, smirked, shook his head, and then walked away without saying anything else to me,” Truong wrote.
“Did he really just laugh at me because I said I wanted to play Division 1 basketball? Did he think I would only make it to a D2 or D3 school? If the color of my skin were different, would he have reacted differently?”
The Truongs are sharing their story during a sharp rise in hate crimes directed against Asian Americans, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While no one has attacked them physically, they and other Asian American athletes have endured prejudice for years.(https://thumb.spokesman.com/dmNBQHrClmiEjGtS4MCTVzL2Ag8=/1200x800/smart/media.spokesman.com/photos/2022/08/15/62f8143258391.hires.jpg)
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If you ain't in D1, you ain't going for Olympics.. O0
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Truong is more chinese with a hint of vietnamese because truong is a vietnamese first name
If you crop off their heads by scrolling down, take a look at them calves. Looks like a pair of dudes