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Pat McAfee: RED PANDA UPDATE We just got sent a statement from The 🐐’s team. “Thank you very much to all NBA, WNBA, Universities, media individuals and her ever supporting fans for your kindness and concern. Last night at Lynx/Fever she took a fall at the very beginning of the show, due to left paddle of her unicycle was damaged during transit, her left wrist was severely fractured at the same spot for the 2nd time. She was at the hospital for 11 hours last night. Greta and Sheridan, from Minnesota Lynx, stayed with her at the hospital the entire night for her procedure. She is very grateful. She is on her way home now and the Doctors in Minneapolis have recommended that as soon as she gets home, she meet with an orthopedic surgeon for the 2nd part of repair. Red panda, wants me to Thank all of you for the kind wishes and support, it means the world to her. She much appreciates from her heart the support she is receiving. We’ll keep you all posted” 🗣 WE LOVE YOU RED PANDA
Tim Reynolds: A late update; The Timberwolves mascot drove Red Panda to the airport today and helped her check in for her flight home. Lots of classy gestures out of Minnesota in the last 24 hours.
Pat McAfee: RED PANDA UPDATE We just got sent a statement from The 🐐’s team. “Thank you very much to all NBA, WNBA, Universities, media individuals and her ever supporting fans for your kindness and concern. Last night at Lynx/Fever she took a fall at the very beginning of the show, due to left paddle of her unicycle was damaged during transit, her left wrist was severely fractured at the same spot for the 2nd time. She was at the hospital for 11 hours last night. Hilton and Greta, from Minnesota Lynx, stayed with her at the hospital the entire night for her procedure. She is very grateful. She is on her way home now and the Doctors in Minneapolis have recommended that as soon as she gets home, she meet with an orthopedic surgeon for the 2nd part of repair. Red panda, wants me to Thank all of you for the kind wishes and support, it means the world to her. She much appreciates from her heart the support she is receiving. We’ll keep you all posted” 🗣 WE LOVE YOU RED PANDA
Michael Voepel: Popular halftime performer Red Panda was injured after a fall at the WNBA Commissioner's Cup game. She tried to walk of the court but is being attended to by medical personnel now. She is being wheeled off the court.
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A sports world that needs some good news right now will be happy to know that Red Panda is OK. “I guess I’m lucky,” the beloved basketball halftime producer told The Athletic on Friday. Red Panda, whose real name is Rong Niu, has become one of the best-known entertainment acts at basketball games since getting her start in what was then an almost nonexistent business in the mid-1990s. She now crisscrosses the country every winter performing her unicycle show at dozens of college and NBA games.
When she took the court at the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis on Wednesday, she had no idea it would be her last show for the foreseeable future. It wasn’t until her agent called later that night that she learned basketball was in the process of shutting down because of the new coronavirus outbreak. “I don’t know what to say, but I really hope this virus dies down and hope everybody gets back to their job, including me,” she said. “That’s what I really hope.”
Niu, who declined to give her age, has watched firsthand as fears of COVID-19, the coronavirus-caused disease, have gripped the country and affected travel, and she’s happy for now that she’s symptom-free. “I started to notice the flights were so light,” she said. “I had never seen it. Literally, it was one person taking one row. I guess the flight industry is getting hit pretty good, too.” As a precaution against the virus, Niu has been wearing a mask and rubber gloves in the airport, and she pulls a blanket over her head when she sleeps. “It looks weird, but I’m not the only person,” she said.
Rong Niu, the unicyclist who's performed as Red Panda in countless halftime shows at NBA and NCAA arenas across North America for decades, had her custom unicycle stolen from San Francisco International Airport on Jan. 24. A $2,000 reward is being offered for its return, according to KTVU's Lisa Fernandez. "She's heartbroken," said Niu's agent, Pat Figley. "It's like her baby was kidnapped. She's had that unicycle for 30 years."
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Niu was supposed to perform at UCLA the next day, Figley said, and had to cancel. She is a regular performer for the Golden State Warriors, as well as the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers. She’s also appeared on America’s Got Talent, ESPN and the Bleacher Report. She's now back out on the road, but she’s on a backup unicycle. And it’s not the same. “She’s doing horribly,” Figley said. “She’s dropping balls. She’s just not used to it. The one that was stolen was custom built for her.”
In mid-2013, toward the end of NBA season, while Niu was auditioning for Season 8 of America's Got Talent, her father, Gui Zhang Niu, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. "It was a surprise," Niu said. "He was a very healthy and strong man. He never even had a simple cold. There were no symptoms, no pain, nothing." The diagnosis came after Niu's father went to the hospital after having trouble swallowing his food. With her father set for chemotherapy treatments, Niu withdrew from America's Got Talent, finished the remaining commitments on her performance schedule and shifted her focus toward taking care of her dad.
While Niu was tending to her father, she occasionally found time to practice in order to stay sharp. During one of her practices, Niu fell backward off her unicycle and fractured her wrist. It was the first major injury she suffered through all her years as an acrobat. Niu's father was released from hospital near the end of 2013. As she recovered from injury, a return to performing was on the horizon for Red Panda. Then her father's cancer came back and spread quickly. In May 2014, he passed away at the age of 75. Afterward, Niu's mother dealt with health complications. Performing at the halftime of games was the last thing on Niu's mind. "It was hard," Niu said, fighting back tears. "It was really hard."
A year later, her mother's health is much improved. Last October, having fully healed from her wrist injury, Niu started plotting her return and began practicing again. For years, Niu's routine consisted of spending two to three hours per day perfecting her act. But given the time off, she pushed herself and changed the routine to seven hours a day in an attempt to regain her flexibility and form. In the morning, Niu would do light stretches, go for a short run and pedal on her unicycle for 15-minute intervals. After a short run, she got back on the bike to complete her practice.
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