Olympic Faux Pas: Spanish Team Accused of Racist Gestures in Newspaper Ad

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Ahead of the Beijing Olympics, Spain's basketball team posed for a promotion for a courier company that sponsors the club. In the photo, the team appears to make "slit-eyed gestures," mocking the appearance of those in the Asian host country.

Digital Journal -- Spain's Olympic basketball team will likely be playing strong defence this week, after photos of the team making "slit-eyed gestures" were revealed.

Posing for an ad for a courier company, the team pulled their eyes back, mocking the physical appearance of the Chinese. The ad appeared on a full page in the sports daily Marca, Spain's top-selling newspaper, according to the Guardian.

The ad reportedly included two photos (the men and women's basketball teams) where athletes pose in Olympic uniforms on a basketball court. The court has the imprint of a Chinese dragon on it, and the athletes appear to be pulling their eyes back.

Among the group of athletes in the ad are Jose Calderon (Toronto Raptors point guard), LA Lakers forward Pau Gasol and Rudy Fernandez (a rookie for the Portland Trail Blazers), according to the CBC.

The courier company is an official sponsor of the Spanish Basketball Federation. The team says no offence was intended with the ad.

Spain's racial insensitivities come at a horrible time, as the country is still bidding to host the Games in Madrid in 2016 or 2020.

Spain has also been criticized in the past for making monkey chants at England's black soccer players in a November 2004 friendly match in Madrid. The Spanish football federation was fined by Fifa, the world governing body, for that incident.