Tag: Hong Kong

The NBA ran into myriad problems by …

The NBA ran into myriad problems by opening one of the academies in Xinjiang, a police state in western China where more than a million Uighur Muslims are now held in barbed-wire camps. American coaches were frequently harassed and surveilled in Xinjiang, the sources said. One American coach was detained three times without cause; he and others were unable to obtain housing because of their status as foreigners.

A former league employee compared the …

A former league employee compared the atmosphere when he worked in Xinjiang to “World War II Germany.” In an interview with ESPN about its findings, NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum, who oversees international operations, said the NBA is “reevaluating” and “considering other opportunities” for the academy program, which operates out of sports facilities run by the Chinese government. Last week, the league acknowledged for the first time it had closed the Xinjiang academy, but, when pressed, Tatum declined to say whether human rights were a factor.

Steve Kerr regrets his initial comments about Daryl Morey, China

The Golden State coach is known for speaking out on political topics, and he regrets how he handled questions about Morey’s controversy.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is known for speaking out on political topics. But he was uncharacteristically quiet when in October 2019 when asked about the international controversy involving the NBA and China, which began when Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweeted an image in support of a Hong Kong protest movement.

“I don’t,” Kerr said in October, when asked if he had an opinion regarding the controversy. “It’s a really bizarre international story, and a lot of us don’t know what to make of it. So it’s something I’m reading about just like everybody is, but I’m not going to comment further than that.”

“What I’ve found is that it’s easy to speak on issues that I’m passionate about and that I feel like I’m well-versed on, and I’ve found that it makes the most sense to stick to topics that fall in that category. So I try to keep my comments to those things. … It’s more I’m just trying to learn.”

Kerr’s commentary was in sharp contrast to that of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who quickly defended Morey’s right to freedom of expression and declared — in response to China’s request that Morey be fired — that he would not be disciplined for his opinion.

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Nine months later, Kerr tells The Washington Post‘s Candace Buckner that he regretted those comments almost immediately.

“Remember the whole China incident? I handled it really poorly,” Kerr said. “I was, frankly, sort of tongue tied.” He continued:

I’m sitting there trying to figure out what I’m supposed to say to make sure I don’t put the league in jeopardy, but also try to find the right balance. And I realize it was probably the one time over the years when I haven’t just spoken from my heart, and I sort of got caught in this political hail storm. … That’s the one episode where I walked away shaking my head, saying ‘What the hell was that?’

Buckner followed up by asking the outspoken Golden State coach what he would do differently, if he had a do-over. Kerr responded:

I would, first of all, back up Daryl. I would just say Daryl has a right, as an American, to free speech. He can say anything he wants, and we should support him in that, and that’s the main message. And then if you want to get into the depths of a really complex issue, then you can have a conversation.

Though fallout from the incident has cost the NBA hundreds of millions of dollars, Silver said in late June that he felt the league’s relationship with China “has improved” since the controversy in late 2019. In time, the league hopes that some of those lost revenue streams can be recouped.

“They have a different view how things have been done, how things should be done,” said Silver, noting that the NBA has had dialogue with its business partners there, and in some cases, with government officials. “Hopefully, we can find mutual respect for each other.”

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Senator Ted Cruz is doubling down on …

Senator Ted Cruz is doubling down on his attack of Mark Cuban and the NBA — claiming the league SAYS it’s all about social justice … until it comes to China. “When it comes to communist China, [the NBA makes] a crap ton of money from China so they silence everybody,” Cruz said … “They’re not willing to say a word.” Cruz is referring to the NBA’s 2019 dust-up with China — when the country blackballed the league because Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey dared to tweet support for protestors in Hong Kong. Cruz thinks the NBA doesn’t really care about freedom or free speech — because its leadership and top players have not publicly criticized the injustice in China the same way they’ve rallied together for social issues in the U.S. “Show me an NBA player who’s allowed to put ‘Tiananmen Square’ on the back of his jersey, then I’ll be impressed with their commitment to free speech.”

Alykhan Bijani: The interaction between …

Chinese TV still not airing NBA games

In its first statement on the matter in months, China’s CCTV said Tuesday it has no intention of resuming the airing of NBA games as the relationship between the sides remains icy in the wake of Daryl Morey’s Hong Kong tweet last fall. The NBA on Monday named Michael Ma as the new CEO of NBA China. Ma comes from an influential Chinese media family — his father, Ma Guoli, is regarded as the father of CCTV Sports, having run it for 16 years.