The NBA is woke, except about human rights abuses in China, say critics.
The National Basketball Association supports human rights, criminal justice reform, increased scrutiny of local elections and close examinations of redistricting and new laws intended to prevent voter fraud.
But while the elite professional athletes focus on political and social issues in the United States, they are usually very quiet about problems in China, where the NBA has been working for years to expand its footprint.
Adam Silver
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Human Rights Watch says China is using its growing global power to become “an exporter of human rights violations, including at the United Nations,” as it blocked its critics from speaking out against its actions.
“China again ranked among countries singled out for reprisals against human rights defenders, and in March successfully advanced a Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution on a retrograde approach that it calls ‘win-win’ or ‘mutually beneficial’ cooperation,” according to Human Rights Watch. “In this view, states do not pursue accountability for serious human rights violations but engage merely in ‘dialogue’ — moreover, there is no role for independent civil society, only governments, and a narrow role for the UN itself.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told GQ that the league was trying to make a difference without losing its ability to connect with Chinese basketball fans.
“And through the relationships that we have in China — directly with the hundreds of millions of people in China that follow NBA basketball — we are an exporter of American values,” Silver said. “And again, I'm not naive. I don't mean to suggest that therefore their system of government will change because people watch NBA basketball. But I think through those relationships come commonality of interest and ultimately empathy and a better understanding of each other. I don't know how else to say it, but I think it's a net positive, because the alternative is disengagement.”
He said he has a response for people who say the league is ignoring human rights violations in China.
“But I guess that people could say, ‘Well, it's inconsistent with our values.’ And I'd say, ‘Do you make decisions based on one issue?’ Silver said. “I still believe that by engaging with people in China, by exporting what is a piece of Americana through the NBA, that we are supporting our fundamental values and that the alternative of not doing it would not improve things.”
The NBA’s concern for maintaining good relations with China and its massive population and economy was evident on Oct. 4, 2019, when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted out support for Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China with some rights not shared with most Chinese people.
Morey sent out an image with the words “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong” while China and Hong Kong were in the midst of a battle over civil rights and extradition laws.
The backlash was immediate as the Chinese Basketball Association, Chinese fans, sponsors and companies reacted in anger, and broadcasts of Rockets’ games in China were threatened. The team has been very popular in the country because of former star center Yao Ming, who is Chinese.
China Central TV stopped airing NBA games amidst the controversy but did resume doing so in November 2020. Tencent, a Chinese stream service, continued to show NBA games — except ones featuring the Rockets.
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta distanced the franchise from the tweet, and Morey later said he regretted the post.
“I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event,” Morey stated. “I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives.
“I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors … I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention. My tweets are my own and in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA.”
Star guard James Harden, who now plays for the Brooklyn Nets, said he regretted the GM’s tweet.
“We apologize. You know, we love China. We love playing there,” Harden said while the Rockets practiced for an exhibition game in Tokyo. “For both of us individually, we go there once or twice a year. They show us the most important love. We appreciate them as a fan base. We love everything there about them, and we appreciate the support that they give us individually and as [an] organization.”
Lakers superstar LeBron James was with his team in China at the time preparing for a pair of exhibition games, which were played despite cancellation concerns.
Once back in the USA, James said Morey was “misinformed or not educated about the situation,” which drew protests from human rights activists.
Human Rights Watch said President Xi Jinping and the single-party Chinese government are imposing new limits on the internet, activists and nongovernmental organizations.
“It strengthened ideological control, particularly in higher education, among religious and ethnic minorities, and within the bureaucracy,” the organization reported. “It devoted massive resources to new technologies for social control, adding artificial intelligence, biometrics, and big data to its arsenal to monitor and shape the minds and behaviors of 1.4 billion people. Government censorship now extends far beyond its borders; its mix of typically financial incentives and intimidation are manipulating discourse about China around the world.”
Silver, in the GQ interview, said there had been “a misinterpretation around the Daryl Morey tweet, and it confuses me in terms of people's reactions. Our response was ‘No, we support freedom of expression. That is a bedrock American principle, and that if they choose to not air our games as a result of that tweet, we accept the consequences. Hopefully, the Chinese will see that.”
The fallout from the tweet was massive, with ESPN reporter Kevin Arnovitz estimating the league lost $200 million because of the tweet and other issues.
Daryl Morey resigned as Houston’s GM in the fall of 2020. He is now the Philadelphia 76ers’ president of basketball operations.
The delicate balance between sports and politics has been on display at other times recently.
In March, James announced that his organization, More Than A Vote, would team with the Georgia chapter of the NCAAP, the NBA Players Association and the NBA to protest a new voting law passed in Georgia. James said the law would make it more difficult for blacks to get to the polls, so the NBA All-Star Game, played March 7 in Atlanta, presented an ideal opportunity to state their case.
But while critics attack the Georgia law and other new voter laws passed in 13 other states, saying they are targeting minorities, supporters of the laws say they are concerned about the 2020 election and the expansion of mail and absentee voting.
“Proponents of the law say this attack is vastly overblown,” according to a Christian Science Monitor story. “Parts of the measure actually expand ballot access, they say, while others still leave Georgia within the U.S. legal mainstream.
“The reality is that the law is multifaceted, and both sides can point to provisions that back up their views. The turbulence may stem especially from the context in which the Republican-controlled state Legislature passed and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the legislation.”
James, one of the greatest NBA players of all time, makes no secret of his political views. He campaigned for Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020 and was a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump.
In 2018, conservative political commentator Laura Schlesinger sharply criticized James.
“It's always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball,” she said. “Keep the political comments to yourselves... Shut up and dribble.”
James responded by saying Schlesinger only aided his cause and helped convince him to continue to speak out.
“The best thing she did was help me create more awareness,” he said before the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. “I get to sit up here and talk about social injustice.”
It’s clear that despite the issues that have arisen, the attacks and critics, James, Silver and the NBA plan to continue to have their say on and off the court.