NBA in damage-control mode as more Chinese partners cut ties in Hong Kong protest tweet storm
- Adam Silver to meet Chinese stakeholders after social media post by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey prompts uproar in China
- Firms including tech giants Tencent and Vivo, and Starbucks competitor Luckin Coffee, say they will be cutting ties with the NBA altogether
The National Basketball Association is still scrambling to salvage its future in China, with the fate of at least two preseason games scheduled for this week uncertain, and more Chinese business partners cutting ties with the league amid a tweet-induced row.
A fan event due to be held on Wednesday evening was cancelled, while the NBA postponed media sessions for the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, the teams slated to play preseason games this week. The two teams also closed their practice sessions to the public on Wednesday without explanation, and the NBA had yet to confirm whether their two games would go ahead as scheduled.
The tweet by Morey and the subsequent statements by NBA management have set off a huge backlash in China with thousands of fans, sponsors and business partners criticising them for “hurting the Chinese people’s feelings”.
Zhang Yujun, vice-president of media distribution at NBA China, said in a social media post on Tuesday that the row over Morey’s tweet could be devastating for the organisation.
“Recently, we noticed that a team manager has still not apologised for their inappropriate social media comments which hurt the Chinese people’s feelings,” Zhang said on Weibo, China’s Twitter.
“This could cause a devastating blow to the NBA and its Chinese partnerships that have developed over the past 30 years.
“As a Chinese person who was born and grew up in China … I want to plead with all Chinese basketball fans, media organisations and NBA business partners to give the NBA more time, and trust that the management of the NBA will give you all a satisfactory reply.”
Chinese e-commerce platforms block Houston Rockets’ merchandise
A day earlier, NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended Morey’s right to freedom of speech.
“I think as a values-based organisation that I want to make it clear … that Daryl Morey is supported in terms of his ability to exercise his freedom of expression,” he said, adding that he hoped to meet Yao Ming, chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association and former Rockets player, during his time in China.
“I’m hoping together Yao and I can find an accommodation, but he is extremely hot at the moment and I understand it,” he said, before heading to Shanghai on Wednesday to attend a preseason game and meet Chinese business partners.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV hit back swiftly by suspending all broadcasts of upcoming NBA preseason games. The Brooklyn Nets are expected to play preseason games against the Los Angeles Lakers in Shanghai on Thursday and on Saturday in Shenzhen.
Other Chinese firms, including tech giants Tencent and Vivo, and Starbucks competitor Luckin Coffee, said they would be cutting ties with the NBA altogether.
Meanwhile, dozens of mainland Chinese celebrities – including actor Wu Jinyan and singer Fan Chengcheng – also said they would boycott NBA events in China this week.
Chinese Basketball Association won’t work with Houston Rockets after controversial tweet
The row began last week when Morey tweeted an image with the words “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong”, a popular slogan of the Hong Kong protest movement.
Morey and the NBA issued conciliatory statements on Monday to try to contain the fallout. Morey said that his tweet “in no way [represents] the Rockets or the NBA”, while the NBA said that it was “regrettable” that Morey had “deeply offended” Chinese fans.
Despite this, the CBA and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank – the Houston Rockets’ main sponsor – cut ties with the team, and all Rockets merchandise has been removed from e-commerce platform Taobao, owned by tech giant Alibaba. Alibaba also owns the South China Morning Post.
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On Wednesday, Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily posted a lengthy English-language commentary on Facebook, titled “Mr Morey: if rioters set fire on Houston subway, will you stand with them?”
It said: “Sport has no nationality, but fans have. 1.4 billion Chinese citizens stand united that the territorial integrity of China is non-negotiable.”
An editorial in state-run tabloid Global Times also said there was “little room for reconciliation” as the issue had escalated into a clash of values between China and the United States.
Meanwhile, US sports broadcaster ESPN issued an internal memo urging hosts to avoid discussions of China and Hong Kong politics in relation to Morey’s tweet, sports news site Deadspin reported. The memo came after a segment of ESPN sports commentator Stephen Smith’s radio programme criticising Morey’s comments was shared widely on Weibo.
ESPN has a major strategic partnership with Tencent, and is owned by Disney, which has a large presence in China.
Many Chinese basketball fans declared on the popular sports forum Hupu that they would no longer support the NBA.
“I cut off all family ties with my father after he said that he would continue to support the Houston Rockets,” one commenter said. “The national interest is much more important than family relationships.”
