The NBA is used to putting out troublesome posting brushfires set by careless players on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and just about any social media outlet these days, but who knew a single tweet by an respected team general manager would create an international firestorm that could reveal the league in its true hypocritical colors and bring its most prominent figures to the forefront — many groveling on their knees — trying to blow out the fire.
Last weekend, Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey sent, then later deleted, what may be the most truthful — and at the same time divisive — tweet in NBA history. A few words supporting the pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong which could potentially lead to an NBA corporate breakdown in the burgeoning China market and pull the rug out on its perceived Liberal political activism .
"Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong," said the deleted tweet, but not before the pissed off Chinese got wind of it.
Not only did the tweet cause angry Chinese bureaucrats and authorities to threaten pulling out of all business dealings with the NBA (The Chinese-state run network has already pulled broadcasts of both Nets vs. Lakers games this week), it is showing the so-called woke NBA as the hypocritical business-first conglomerate it really is.
The Chinese market is estimated to be about 10% of the league's total current revenue and expected to reach 20% by the year 2030. The NBA has a $1.5 billion streaming deal with the Chinese media Tencent at this moment.
The beholden to China hypocrisy starts with such usually outspoken socially-conscious NBA figureheads as the commissioner Adam Silver, and trickles down to the league's most successful head coaches Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich. Sure Silver and the NBA promote social justice for causes like Black Lives Matters, cancels an All-Star Game in North Carolina because of a transgender bathroom controversy and allows its fraternity to rail at President Trump's policies, but when it comes to China — their authoritarian business partners in arms — and foreign human rights violations they are quiet as sheep.
The never at a loss for words Kerr (his own father, an international studies academic, was assassinated by Muslim terrorists in Lebanon) when it comes to mashing Trump is suddenly Sergeant "I know nothing" Shultz about the violence in Hong Kong. And Popovich, who never met an interviewer he gave more than five words to unless it was criticizing the President sits on the fence regarding such an outrage as the Hong Kong protests.
These three can't even hold a blank-strap to Trump when it comes to playing tough with China and its sinister business dealings. It seems all those human rights offenses that have been documented by the media for years proves that the league only cares about money.
Silver defended Morey's right to send the "regrettable" tweet and claims he won't put profits over principles.
"The NBA will not put itself in a position of regulating what players, employees and team owners say or will not say," Silver said in a statement. "We simply could not operate that way."
Chinese sponsors and sporting goods manufacturers are already bailing on the NBA, not to mention the cancellation of special events .
Kerr was even more wishy-washy.
"A lot of us don't know what to make of it," he said after the Chinese decided not to broadcast this week's games. "It's something I'm reading about, but I'm not going to comment."
Popovich, meanwhile, passed the buck back to Silver — with some sort of pathetically misdirected analogy.
"Adam is a very progressive leader," he said. "We all remember how he handled the situation with the Clippers. It made everyone proud and was the right thing to do. A couple of years ago, I was walking down the street in New York City during the gay pride parade. I turned around and here comes a float, and Adam is standing on a float with a big sign in support of LGBTQ. And I felt great again, just like I did with the Clipper deal."
How's that for a bold political stance.
It's sort of funny that the same coaches who to use their NBA platforms to discredit Trump — who has taken the strongest stand of any president against China's corrupt and unethical business and trade practices — at any chance they get turn to milquetoast when it comes to criticizing NBA's kowtowing to the Chinese Communist Party business power play.
The NBA's answer to all this? Bringing in the NBA's newest owner to the into the middle as peacemaker.
Joe Tsai, a Taiwan-born, American-educated businessman who only last month had his purchase of the Brooklyn Nets approved, is hoping to resolve the business aspect of the problem, if not the political.
"When the topic of any separatist movement comes up, Chinese people feel a strong sense of shame and anger because of this history of foreign occupation," Tsai said in a Facebook post explaining why Morey's tweet upset the Chinese.
You have to wonder where Tsai's loyalty lies, considering he owns online retailer Alibaba, China's most valuable company.
On Monday, Rockets star James Harden offered an awkward apology that was basically an early Valentine's card after the news of Morey's tweet hit Japan where the Rockets were practicing for a preseason game.
"We apologize. You know we love China," Harden gushed about Morey's pro-Hong Kong tweet. "For both of us individually, we go there once or twice a year. They show us the most important love."
Expect to see a few other heavyweights in the coming days to step on the scale — willingly or not.
It'll be interesting to know how far Yao Ming and LeBron James' power really extends .
And if you thought the protestors in Hong Kong were the only ones being silenced, think again. On Tuesday night, pair of fans attending at a preseason game at the Wells Fargo Center between the Philadelphia 76ers against a Chinese team the Guangzhou Loong Lions were escorted out of the stands in the second quarter after yelling "Free Hong Kong" and holding up a couple of small protest signs that said the same.
Silver banned the word "owner" from the NBA vernacular for having racially insensitive connotations, but regarding this China conundrum, the commissioner owns it.
Here are the controversial signs. I know, earth shattering right? Obvious why the NBA would have a problem with this. Thanks to @Christie_Ileto for sending me this photo: pic.twitter.com/Y1GydtGked— Sam Wachs (@gogowachs) October 9, 2019
