The National Basketball Association has been exposed as fraudulent after the league took a stand against Houston Rockets’ General Manager Daryl Morey. On October 4th Morey tweeted a message of support for free speech protesters in Hong Kong.
The NBA has tried to position itself as the most progressive sports league in the United States. They have encouraged their players and coaches to open up about political issues. This could be seen with notable NBA coaches including Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr criticizing the current administration.
On the other hand, these forms of protest are not encouraged by other sports leagues, notably the NFL, which Steve Kerr criticized in the past. This leads to many members of sports media calling the NBA as the ‘good sports league’ as opposed to the NFL’s ‘bad’.
On the surface Morey’s tweet seems innocent enough. He sent a tweet supporting the people of Hong Kong, a democratic enclave that is under control of Authoritarian China. Citizens in Hong Kong are protesting for their rights to not be extradited to China for trial, and for general freedom of speech. The progressive NBA should applaud Morey for his stand, however, they did not.
The NBA issued a statement in response to Morey’s tweet saying “We recognize that the views expressed by …Morey has deeply offended many of our friends, and fans in China, which is regrettable.”
Why would the progressive NBA issue such a regressive statement in regard to what is going on in china? In a word money.
The NBA currently has a 1.5 billion dollar contract with Tencent. Tencent is a Chinese tech company who broadcasts the NBA’s games in China. After Daryl Morey’s tweet, Tencent led a blackout and stopped showing all NBA preseason games in China. The initial blackout has since stopped but the threat is clear. If the NBA talks about controversial issues in China then they will not do any more business with the NBA.
In response to Tencent the NBA has rolled over, with the help of Commissioner Adam Silver. Silver traveled to China to help smooth things over, however, it is clear that the NBA never cared about being progressive. It is shown to the public that the NBA wanted to be perceived that way it for revenue. Now that the NBA has to make a statement that will hurt their bottom line, they cower.
This fear to speak up also extends to individuals who play or coach in the NBA. Steve Kerr, when asked about the ethical issue when it comes to China deflected and talked about issues in the United States. Which would not affect his or the NBA’s ability to make money now or in the future
This proves that the progressiveness of the NBA is a facade . Just a shell to help the league look more sponsor friendly when compared to rival sports leagues In reality, the NBA is just a money-making effort for those in the top who only care about making money, and nothing about the immorality that may help them make more.
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