For NBA, cash is king in relations with China
China 1, NBA 0. The powerful sports league has no winners in the ongoing global conflict.
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey spoke out on behalf of freedom, setting off an international rift and creating speculation about his job security.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stayed neutral and was tagged a hypocrite and belittled by the president of the United States.
Superstar LeBron James spoke up and sounded like a mouthpiece stooge for an oppressive regime, losing a huge amount of credibility.
And the NBA, for all its “wokeness,” looks like the rest of the corporate world: kowtowing and pandering at the altar of big money.
The old, apocryphal Michael Jordan line is, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” Well, the Chinese buy sneakers, too. Lots and lots and lots of them. That, apparently, is all that counts.
It’s somewhat unfair that the defense/explanation/interpretation of this conflict created by the league’s desire for revenue falls on players and coaches. It’s like asking Apple workers and middle managers to speak out on their company’s dealings with China. But the nondecision makers are the front men for the league.
The choices made by corporate America to make billions off the Chinese market have always been dicey. Anyone who has been to China has witnessed the dichotomy in values. At the Beijing Olympics, the pretense of freedom of expression felt like a facade that could be pulled down at any minute (and was, immediately after the Games).
There are many vantage points to this conflict. But the majority view from the United States is that the Hong Kong protesters are in the right. However, President Trump has remained silent and reportedly promised President Xi Jinping to remain so. No other American corporations have rushed in with public support for Hong Kong. And a proHong Kong bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives has been slammed by China as “sinister” and “arrogant and dangerous.”
The NBA has borne the weight of a global fight by tipping its naive toe in the turmoil.
If the NBA or any other corporation thought doing business with China would be easy, and that all they would have to do was sit back and watch the money roll in without compromising their values, they’re finally learning otherwise.
The NBA says its global push is about building bridges. Right now it’s about burning jerseys. LeBron’s in Hong Kong, Rockets jerseys in mainland China.
The NBA: Where amazing — or hypocrisy — happens.