Daryl Morey, the NBA and LeChina

[Toews]

Quote

China suspends business ties with NBA's Houston Rockets over Hong Kong tweet

Several Chinese businesses are suspending ties with the Houston Rockets after the American basketball team's general manager expressed support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests.

 

Daryl Morey set off a firestorm in China over the weekend when he posted an image on Twitter that read, "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong." Tensions between Hong Kong and Beijing, which controls the former British colony, have been fueled by months of political unrest.

 

The backlash from China followed quickly. The Chinese Basketball Association said Sunday it would suspend all cooperation with the Texas-based team. The association's chairman is Yao Ming, a former Rockets player.

 

China's consulate general in Houston also urged the team to "clarify and immediately correct the mistakes" in a statement on Sunday.

 

The NBA team's partnerships in China were thrown into doubt. CCTV 5, the sports channel of China's top state broadcaster, announced that it would suspend airing Houston Rockets events on television.

 

And Tencent Sports said it would suspend live streaming for Houston Rockets games, as well as news about the team. Tencent (TCEHY) is the NBA's exclusive digital partner in China. Nearly 500 million people in China watched NBA programming on Tencent platforms during the last season, according to the companies. They recently signed a five-year extension of that partnership.

 

Sponsors distanced themselves from the Houston Rockets as well. Li-Ning Company, which makes sportswear, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank each said over the weekend that they would suspend cooperation with the team.

NBA expresses regret

The backlash triggered responses from the NBA and Morey. The NBA said Monday that it recognizes that Morey's views "have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable."

 

"While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them," NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass said in a statement, which was published on the Chinese social media website Weibo. "We have great respect for the history and culture of China and hope that sports and the NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together."

...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/07/business/houston-rockets-nba-china-daryl-morey/index.html

 

I think this deserves a separate thread because this is a country trying to censor a private individual's thoughts. What's absolutely terrifying about this is that this is how far they are willing to go for someone that is in the public sphere, someone with a lower profile is probably even more easier to target. The NBA, the so called 'hip and progressive' league has shown that at the end of the day the money comes first over all else, which is how most of these 1%s operate. They will sell us all out down the road simply because it will inconvenience their bottom line not to.

 

The NBA players who have been so quick to speak out against injustices (to their credit) are silent, showing us that activism is easy when it doesn't impact or even benefits your bottom line. Some of these players are out there apologizing and professing their love for China.

 

 

The Rockets owner Fertitta has even liked posts calling for the firing of Daryl Morey. Lets see if that shoe drops because I cannot imagine the owner is thrilled about one of his employees costing him millions. China loves the NBA and the NBA loves China's money. We now know how that relationship works. It also shows that you could be filthy rich but that still won't give you the freedom to act on your thoughts and beliefs. In fact its more likely that you will be beholden to anyone who has a direct impact on your bottom line. These rich 1%s are afraid of losing their exulted status in society, the luxuries, the opportunities that come with all of that. It 's much akin to when I left Canada and saw how most of the people on this planet lived and its not a pretty sight to say the least (from my perspective). These rich 1%s stand to lose a whole lot more than you and I, its bound to affect their mindset.

 

I initially found the Hong Kong incident just more par for the course for what's happening all around the world, where authoritarians seem to be taking over and persecuting minorities. I will admit that I have grown callous over the years and find myself less and less affected by the atrocities committed by said authoritarian governments. I am wide awake and paying attention now because absolutely anyone getting fired from their job for championing freedom and democracy in the West would be an utter travesty. I truly believe that.

 

I hope we can all come together and bash the NBA for their hypocrisy and cowardice. They have earned it.

 

PS: I was going to keep this short but my thoughts slipped into a longer rant. Feel free to question any or all of it. 

Edited October 15, 2019 by Toews

[Duodenum]

This is how you look when you throw your honour and your morals away for the almighty dollar. 

[Tre Mac]

With how that league has turned out in the last 20 years I am almost glad it left out city.  Pathetic.  

[King Heffy]

Realistically, the only guys in the NBA with the kind of clout necessary to make that kind of stand are Lebron, Jordan, and Magic Johnson.

[nuckin_futz]

I can guarantee you that every executive in every North American sport already has heard about this story and has been told either by their league or ownership to not say a damn thing about Hong Kong. Within a day or two every player will get that same message. Same for leagues in Europe, Australia and South America etc.

 

Appeasing authoritarians never ends well.

[Kakanucks]

Same old same old, they say they will boycott, but they will still spend money. 

 

Also corporations kowtowing to the RMB as expected. 

 

[Monty]

1 hour ago, King Heffy said:

Realistically, the only guys in the NBA with the kind of clout necessary to make that kind of stand are Lebron, Jordan, and Magic Johnson.

Are you “positive” about that?

[nuckin_futz]

13 minutes ago, Monty said:

Are you “positive” about that?

[Kragar]

5 hours ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

 

Sadly, it seems like the only way to get a regime change to remove these authoritarians from power would likely be a world war, the likes of which people will rather choose to tolerate and suffer the injustices dealt by the authoritarians instead of facing the potential of near annihilation of portions of human civilization to right the wrongs instigated by the authoritarians and stand up against these injustices.  It really is a difficult decision to make. 

Well, they had one revolution not toooooo long ago against a dictatorship

[Kragar]

5 minutes ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

perhaps, but this is the most populous nation in the world and the world's second largest economy we're talking about here... probably a bit trickier than Libya, Iraq, or even the USSR...

I was referring to China's revolution. They've done it before, and if they try again, maybe they can make a better society next time.

[Kragar]

15 minutes ago, 6of1_halfdozenofother said:

Sorry that I mistook your point, but I think my points still hold nonetheless - that as the 2nd largest economy in the world, and the most populous nation, a revolution is going to be very difficult; and even if it could be done, it'd be at the cost of an awful lot of lives with much collateral damage to even non-participant nations. 

 

Shaking the yoke of Qing rule was both damaging to the economy of China as well as disruptive to the global supply chain on a number of products, and resulted in millions of deaths over the years as first revolution, followed by civil war and warlord rule, followed by Japanese invasion and occupation, succeeded by an immediate return to civil war, after which the revolution finally reached its current consolidation and stasis under CCP rule. 

 

With China in its current state in the world, such a revolution would take years also (maybe decades) for a stable government to emerge, and the damage to the world economy would likely be of such magnitude that its foundation might even need to be rebuilt.  All the while, many millions of people (and possibly billions) will likely die from the uprising, the subsequent suppression by government, guerrilla warfare, mass arrests and mass executions (most likely without fair trials), and back and forth. Many more would escape from the fighting, or die trying, and the luckiest millions would find refuge in western countries, impacting those countries' ability to provide for their citizens.

 

I think the real question (and concern) is whether or not the west has the appetite to intervene and be labeled as going against the principle of not interfering in the "internal matters of a sovereign nation" while potentially suffering losses on foreign soil (and against a nuclear weapons owner, to boot), or if they'll stand idly by while the CCP and PLA massacre the citizens who choose to stand up against their repressive government.

Absolutely agree.  It would be a huge undertaking, and honestly it would be hard to have something approaching a free society as we know it, unless it is led by Hong Kong. Such a fundamental change is difficult when people don't know much different.

 

But, them doing it would be better than outside forces leading the way.  We might be able to help with weapons and supplies, but if the source isn't coming from within, I see less chance of it being successful.

 

 

[infinitecarnage]

 

 

 

in the meantime

 

Edited October 8, 2019 by infinitecarnage

[Gurn]

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/entertainment/entertainmenttv/south-park-games-company-swept-up-in-china-censorship-fury/ar-AAIrVRG?ocid=spartandhp

 

'

TV show South Park and a major video game studio are the latest businesses swept into a growing debate over how to navigate China's censorship efforts.

The question has heated up after the NBA suffered a backlash in China over a pro-Hong Kong tweet by the Houston Rockets general manager.

South Park's creators tackled the issue head on, making the latest episode of their satirical cartoon about how Hollywood self-censors to gain access to China's vast consumer market. The show was quickly scrubbed from the Chinese internet.

A check of the popular video streaming sites Youku and Bilibili turned up zero mentions of "South Park." A search on the search engine Baidu did pull up mentions of "South Park," but some results were removed.

Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone issued a faux apology, saying, "Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts. We too love money more than freedom and democracy."

They were referring to a rapidly deleted tweet by the Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey supporting the Hong Kong protests. That angered Chinese authorities, with the state broadcaster cancelling plans to show a pair of preseason games this week and reviewing all co-operation and exchanges with the league.

Meanwhile, video games maker Activision Blizzard said Tuesday it kicked a Hong Kong esports pro out of a tournament and seized his prize money after he voiced support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy protest movement.

The company also said it suspended Ng-wai Chung, known as Blitzchung, from the Hearthstone Grandmaster card game for a year.

Chung's offence was to shout "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" during a post-game interview on the weekend with two Taiwanese "casters," or hosts, who ducked under their desk, apparently not wanting to be associated with the slogan used by protesters in the semiautonomous Chinese city.

Under the game's rules, players can be removed for behaviour that results in public disrepute, offends the public or damages its image, Blizzard said, adding that the two hosts were also fired.

Chinese authorities generally do not officially comment on the myriad acts of censorship carried out on the Internet and in other forms every day.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was trying to find a middle way as the league faced a firestorm sparked by Morey's tweet.

On a visit to Tokyo, Silver said he and the league are "apologetic" that so many Chinese officials and fans were upset, but also said he isn't apologizing for Morey's tweet.

"Daryl Morey, as general manager of the Houston Rockets, enjoys that right as one of our employees," Silver said. "What I also tried to suggest is that I understand there are consequences from his freedom of speech and we will have to live with those consequences."

___

Penny Wang and Elaine Kurtenback in Bangkok and Stephen Wade and Tim Reynolds in Tokyo contributed to this report.

[Gurn]

^ And people want to build a pipeline to sell oil to China.

[Kragar]

1 hour ago, gurn said:

^ And people want to build a pipeline to sell oil to China.

I wonder... setting aside strategic implications, would it at least be better to sell them stuff rather than buy theirs?

[Lancaster]

1 hour ago, gurn said:

^ And people want to build a pipeline to sell oil to China.

I support building a pipeline to sell hydrocarbons to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.  

[Canada Hockey Place]

Uncharacteristic short sighted move by China in my opinion. This will set an international precedent where comments by private citizens or businesses can be used for political retaliation. 

 

China naively thinks they have complete control over all their citizens but as their economy grows greed will obviously override nationalism, if it hasn't already. It might work against the US today but other countries will now be able to use the same tactic against China as they expand to countries they do not control. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Warhippy]

half a billion sports fans being told they are not going to be able to watch their sport of choice unless "a mistake is corrected" because an American exercised his right as an american to say what he wants.

 

Imagine the NHL said no more games will be televised for you.  Think people wouldn't find a way?  It's not like China is doing itself any favours with the south park and NBA issue.

 

It's just missing a certain president demanding someone be fired to cap off the stupidity

[Lancaster]

Censorship entering the US too now.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/76ers-fan-supporting-hong-kong-ejected-from-preseason-game.html

 

76ers fan supporting Hong Kong ejected from preseason game against Chinese squad in Philadelphia

PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGOUPDATED 44 MIN AGO

Jabari Young

 

KEY POINTS

• A fan was ejected from a Philadelphia 76ers preseason game on Tuesday after holding signs and shouting support for Hong Kong.
• The match was against the Guangzhou Loong Lions, a squad from China.
• The relationship between the NBA and China has been eroding since Sunday, when the Houston Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for the anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

 

Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons (25) drives to the net as Guangzhou Loong-Lions’ Yongpeng Zhang defends and Philadelphia 76ers’ Tobias Harris, right, watches during the first half of an NBA exhibition basketball game Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, in Philadelphia.

Matt Rourke | AP

A fan was ejected from a Philadelphia 76ers preseason game on Tuesday after holding signs and shouting support for Hong Kong during the game against the Guangzhou Loong Lions, a squad from China.

Sam Wachs said he and his wife were silently holding signs that said “Free Hong Kong” during the game at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

 

“I was being heckled by fans of the visiting Guangzhou team who swore at me and repeated Chinese government disinformation,” Wachs said in response to a question from CNBC on his Facebook page.

The signs were confiscated by security at the stadium and Wachs and his wife were kicked out, he said.

“Got kicked out of the Philadelphia 76ers game against Guangzhou tonight for bringing these / chanting my support of Hong Kong,” Wachs posted on Facebook on Tuesday night. “The NBA is pretty cowardly when it comes to pressure from the Chinese government.”

The 76ers and Wells Fargo Center released statements saying Wachs was removed after disrupting the game for other fans and ignoring several warnings.

Here’s the statement from the Wells Fargo Center:

 

During the second quarter of last night’s 76ers game, Wells Fargo Center security responded to a situation that was disrupting the live event experience for our guests. After three separate warnings, the two individuals were escorted out of the arena without incident. The security team employed respectful and standard operating procedures.

Here’s the statement from the 76ers:

The Wells Fargo Center’s event staff is responsible for the security and comfort of all guests at arena events, including 76ers games. At last evening’s game, following multiple complaints from guests and verbal confrontations with others in attendance, two individuals were warned by Wells Fargo Center staff about their continuing disruption of the fan experience. Ultimately, the decision was made by Wells Fargo Center personnel to remove the guests from the premises, which was accomplished without incident.

Wachs said he wasn’t intentionally confrontational.

“When I was ejected, I’d say I was disruptive in the sense that I was standing in my seat. But I did not go about this protest in a confrontational way. I only stood and began to chant after signs were taken away,” he told CNBC.

The NBA is facing intense criticism in mainland China since Houston Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey backed the anti-government protests in a now-deleted tweet over the weekend that said, “Fight for Freedom. Stand for Hong Kong.”

The tweet was quickly deleted and Morey apologized, but his comments drew backlash in China.

The NBA released a statement about Morey on Sunday that was translated into Chinese for the league’s verified account on Chinese social media platform Weibo. A CNBC translation of the post found differences between the English and Chinese version, which sparked criticism in the U.S. for its decidedly more apologetic tone.

The league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, apologized for offending the league’s Chinese fans, but he stood by Morey’s right to express his opinions, saying the league would “protect its employees’ freedom of speech.”

By Wednesday, nearly all of the NBA’s Chinese partners had publicly announced that they were ending or suspending their relationships with the league.

Earlier this week, Chinese tech giant Tencent, Luckin Coffee and Vivo announced the suspension of their relationships with the NBA.

— CNBC’s Eunice Yoon, Amelia Lucas, and Lilian Wu contributed to this report.

 

[Toews]

6 hours ago, Lancaster said:

Censorship entering the US too now.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/76ers-fan-supporting-hong-kong-ejected-from-preseason-game.html

 

 

 

I am not sure if I would refer to it as "censorship" as any business should be allowed to not admit patrons who display messages that could be considered politically and culturally sensitive. The real problem is that this exposes the NBA's hypocrisy. They dove right into the progressive culture because it helped get them younger fans who viewed the NBA as more empathetic and sensitive towards issues that concerned them. It's an image that the NBA has created and monetized. Meanwhile the NBA's biggest ambassadors have sat their and directed criticism towards the NFL regarding their response to player protests. These people have been exposed as hypocrites when it comes to China, as they are taking money from the Chinese people, while pretending that the same Chinese people don't have every right to the freedoms and inalienable rights given to anyone born in America. Hypocrisy damages credibility.