Fox Sports is apologizing for an “inappropriate” video filmed on the University of Southern California campus that critics say mocks Asian students — most of whom appear to know little about college football — by singling them out and prompting them to welcome Colorado and Utah to the Pac-12.
The video has since been removed from Fox’s website. But a University of Colorado ethnic studies professor said Tuesday that he finds it troubling, saying it perpetuates racist myths about Asians being “un-American.”
For the video, Bob Oschack — a comedian who labeled himself as an “investigative reporter” for Fox Sports — approached Asian students on the USC campus, asking them how they feel about CU and the University of Utah becoming the newest members of the Pac-12 conference.
In his introduction, Oschack says: “Let’s give the conference’s two newest members a good, old-fashioned, all-American welcome!”
He then appears to mock students’ accents, corrects their grammatical mistakes in a seemingly condescending tone and pretends to mistake what they’re saying for the sake of laughs.
One student enthusiastically say, “Welcome to Colorado and Utah!” and is interrupted by Oschack: “No, you’re saying welcome to Colorado and Utah. We’re in Los Angeles.” He also includes a student who admits that she doesn’t know much about football and says, “Welcome Colorado and Utah to the top 12.”
Daryl Maeda, a professor in CU’s Ethnic Studies department, said that Fox Sports should be apologizing to Asian Americans — not just the USC community — who are demeaned by the video. He also said that Fox should publicly reprimand Oschack.
Despite the fact that Asians have been in the United States for more than a century and a half, Maeda said, they are frequently seen as perpetual foreigners and the antithesis of “good Americans.” Oschack reinforces this stereotype, Maeda said, when he purports to give CU and Utah an “All-American welcome” to the Pac-12, then goes out of his way to find Asian students for whom English is a second language.
“This is demeaning to millions of Asian Americans who have put down deep roots in the United States, claim English as their language and root vigorously for their favorite sports teams,” Maeda said.
Oschack’s portrayal of Asian Americans as “perpetual foreigners” harks back to racist actions such as the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Maeda said.
“It has no place in a diverse and civil society,” he said.
Asian students made up 21.6 percent of the undergraduate student body at USC in 2010, according to campus statistics, and international students made up 11.2 percent.
In a statement provided to the Camera on Tuesday, Lou D’Ermilio — a spokesman for Fox Sports Network — said the network apologizes to the USC community for producing and posting the video.
“The context was clearly inappropriate and the video was removed as soon as we became aware of it,” he said in the statement. “We will review our editorial process to determine where the breakdown occurred, and we will take steps to ensure something like this never happens again.”
CU’s football team hosts the USC Trojans at 7 p.m. Nov. 4.
CU and Utah officially entered the Pac-12 in July.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com.
