Sport slams into China reality check
Randall Doyle says the NBA-China clash is a defining moment
IIT always happens unexpectedly. A moment that catches governments and their respective power elites by surprise, but also instantaneously clarifies an emerging global situation.
The cultural and political explosion that occurred bbetween the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Chinese government this month began when Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball franchise, wrote a tweet that supported the protesters in Hong Kong, “Fight for Freedom. Stand for Hong Kong.”
Like most Americans, Morey has a simplistic belief that the world is, or should be, like America, with a recognised set of civil liberties that are part of everyday life.
Inadvertently, Morey’s use of free speech set off a cultural and political firestorm between the Chinese government and the NBA. China’s immediate response was swift and nasty. In short, the Rockets’ general manager had stepped on a cultural and political landmine.
As a result, collateral damage has occurred for China and the NBA. This moment of geopolitical friction will not soon be forgotten by both parties.
Perhaps the greatest mistake made during this rather sensitive and sordid ordeal was the initial response from NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s office. It was pure capitulation. In essence, the commissioner’s spokesperson apologised to the Chinese government for offending their political “sensitivities” on the matter of Hong Kong.
Many Americans viewed the NBA’s apologetic response as an embarrassment, if not an act of cowardly appeasement.
Why would the NBA kowtow to the Chinese government? It’s simple. Money. Lots of it.
Presently, China represents a potentially massive, and largely untapped, market for the NBA. Their games played in China garner sellout crowds and substantial TV ratings.
The marketing of NBA merchandise represents billions of dollars.
Hence, Morey’s comments, though very American, concerning the volatile protests in Hong Kong, a territory defined as a “special administrative region”, were immediately viewed by the NBA’s hierarchy as potentially killing the golden goose.
So, with billions of dollars at risk, the NBA immediately chose money over America’s most cherished freedoms. The league looked weak and unprincipled. It was.
The public backlash was dramatic and widespread. The NBA, as expected, took immediate steps to control the damage to the league’s image.
Money has a way of making people and institutions become slightly unhinged.
This is not the first time that America, and the West, have clashed with China and it will not be the last. Since the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, in the mid-18th century, the most powerful economy in the world has been a western power — Great Britain and the US. However, the People’s Republic of China seems poised to jump into the number one slot.
Yet predictions of China overtaking the US during the next decade now appear to be a bit hyperbolic, if not overly exaggerated. So far, China’s rise to economic pre-eminence remains unfulfilled. And I believe it will not occur any time soon. Consider China’s ongoing trade war with the US which has had a dramatic effect upon its domestic economy, the street protests in Hong Kong, and a dangerous banking situation which has emerged in many of the nation’s provinces and regions. In short, things have suddenly become quite shaky and unsettled in the People’s Republic of China.
The NBA discovered what other international companies have discovered since China decided to embrace capitalism in the late-1970s. He who has the gold writes the rules. In essence, if you want to do business with China, or in China, one must respect their “house rules” if you want to succeed.
Professor Randall Doyle teaches US history, government and international relations at MidMichigan College. He is author of The Australian Nexus: At the Center of the Storm and is a regular visitor to Tasmania. He has also taught at North China University of Technology in Beijing, and at Ocean University of China in Qingdao.