China punishes NBA as crisis over Hong Kong tweet deepens
BEIJING: China yesterday scrapped plans to air NBA exhibition games as the league faced an escalating punishment campaign in the lucrative Chinese market ignited by an American basketball executive’s pro-democracy tweet.
The National Basketball Association also faced a counter-attack in the United States, where presidential candidates, influential senators, and fans accused it of kowtowing to China.
The crisis erupted on Friday when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for protesters in the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city of Hong Kong who are demanding greater freedoms.
The NBA, seeking to balance its interests in the Chinese market against American free speech values, found itself squeezed by both sides in a reflection of the broader tensions between the global superpowers.
The league initially put out statements that senior US politicians slammed as bowing to China for financial reasons, while Rockets star guard James Harden apologised.
But NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Monday insisted his organisation supported Morey’s right to express his opinions.
Speaking at yesterday’s press conference in Japan where the Rockets are playing two exhibition games this week, Silver said the NBA will not regulate speech and won’t apologise for Morey’s tweet.
The organisation would continue to “support freedom of expression and certainly freedom of expression of the NBA community,” he said.
China Central Television (CCTV) responded yesterday, announcing it had shelved plans to broadcast a pair of pre-season games to be held in China this week and was considering more punishments.
“We believe that any comments that challenge national sovereignty and social stability are not within the scope of freedom of speech,” it said. “CCTV’s Sports Channel has decided to immediately suspend plans to broadcast the NBA pre-season games and will immediately investigate all cooperation and communication involving the NBA.”
Chinese Internet giant Tencent, which streams NBA games to hundreds of millions of fans in China, quickly followed suit.
Nets players and executives as well as NBA China officials were to appear at a publicity event in Shanghai yesterday, but the league abruptly cancelled it just two hours before it was to start.