Has the Bridge Been Burned Between the NBA and China?
The NBA is known for being one of the most global leagues in the world. This is seen through its players, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lauri Markkanen, and Joel Embiid. This is also seen through its influence in other countries, seen through its more recent influence in Europe and Asia. However, due to recent events they may lose their biggest market China, and its all connected to their recent issues with Hong Kong.
The recent issues that the NBA has been dealing with all go back to the GM of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey. He had recently tweeted out in favor of the protestors in Hong Kong, as seen here:
The tweet instantly came with backlash from NBA fans in China as well as from China itself. The backlash is so bad that it is likely to cause the Rockets to lose millions over the tweet. Many businesses in China have separated themselves from the NBA, seen through television companies in China no longer going to be broadcasting the preseason games they had originally scheduled to broadcast.
This is even more damaging because it was Morey who made this tweet. The Rockets are the team with the biggest relationship with China, even seen through their city jerseys that included Chinese text and symbols on them. This relationship developed through the team drafting Yao Ming number one overall back in 2002, and really helped develop the massive fan base seen today in China. Now, Yao Ming is the president of the Chinese Basketball Association and has also cut ties with the NBA over the tweet, even to a point where he has been described as "extremely hot" over the situation.
I believe that the NBA has gone about this about as well as they can in what truly is a lose-lose situation for them. There is no possible way for them to appease both sides in this, but Adam Silver did the best he could. He did not apologize to China for Morey's tweet, but he did apologize for the backlash that has now caused a major rift between the NBA and China. Silver was exactly right in his statement, that Morey had the right to express his views over Twitter and show that he supports the democratic movement in Hong Kong.
However, just like we discussed in class, it doesn't mean that what you express or say may not have consequences to it. He expressed himself and has every right to do so, but he should have been able to see that this would have caused major backlash in the biggest market outside of the US. He knew that with how high the tensions were, that it was going to be a risky move to tweet that out. It was a risky move that has likely cost the NBA their biggest international market.
The recent issues that the NBA has been dealing with all go back to the GM of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey. He had recently tweeted out in favor of the protestors in Hong Kong, as seen here:
The tweet instantly came with backlash from NBA fans in China as well as from China itself. The backlash is so bad that it is likely to cause the Rockets to lose millions over the tweet. Many businesses in China have separated themselves from the NBA, seen through television companies in China no longer going to be broadcasting the preseason games they had originally scheduled to broadcast.
This is even more damaging because it was Morey who made this tweet. The Rockets are the team with the biggest relationship with China, even seen through their city jerseys that included Chinese text and symbols on them. This relationship developed through the team drafting Yao Ming number one overall back in 2002, and really helped develop the massive fan base seen today in China. Now, Yao Ming is the president of the Chinese Basketball Association and has also cut ties with the NBA over the tweet, even to a point where he has been described as "extremely hot" over the situation.
I believe that the NBA has gone about this about as well as they can in what truly is a lose-lose situation for them. There is no possible way for them to appease both sides in this, but Adam Silver did the best he could. He did not apologize to China for Morey's tweet, but he did apologize for the backlash that has now caused a major rift between the NBA and China. Silver was exactly right in his statement, that Morey had the right to express his views over Twitter and show that he supports the democratic movement in Hong Kong.
However, just like we discussed in class, it doesn't mean that what you express or say may not have consequences to it. He expressed himself and has every right to do so, but he should have been able to see that this would have caused major backlash in the biggest market outside of the US. He knew that with how high the tensions were, that it was going to be a risky move to tweet that out. It was a risky move that has likely cost the NBA their biggest international market.
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