Ed Wang, an offensive tackle from Virginia Tech chosen by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the draft, is the first player in NFL history with two Chinese parents. He says he think that gives him a unique opportunity to help the league gain traction in China.
“It’s really important to me,” Wang told the Buffalo News. “It means a lot to me that I was able to be the first one to do it, so I took a lot of pride in that.”
Both of Wang’s parents were raised in Beijing, and both were track stars who represented China in the Olympics before moving to Virginia, where Wang was born.
The NFL has attempted to establish a foothold in China, but in 2008 it scrapped plans to have a preseason game there, and its efforts in China have been described as one of the league’s few failures. Wang would like to help on that front, but he knows that his first priority is making the Bills’ roster.
“I feel like I can improve on everything,” Wang said. “I feel like I have a lot of room to grow in my game and that’s what I’m really excited about, just getting there and having them develop me more and just getting ready to go.”
