Alley-oops! NBA China drops the ball over J.J. Redick racial slur storm as sorry seems to be the hardest word
An apology from the Philadelphia 76ers star was needed much sooner, and the NBA’s silence over the issue is stunning
Whether you believe J.J. Redick had nothing to apologise for, it should not have taken him nearly 12 hours to say the magic word “sorry” after initially not bothering when he addressed the racial slur storm he caused with Chinese NBA fans.
He appeared to say the word “chink” and somehow nobody at the Chinese media company caught the gaffe, nor did any of the 76ers PR team who were also in the room filming the clip.
Nor seemingly did anyone at NBA China, who surely must have reviewed the video before it was made public. If not, then it is an unacceptable oversight on their part.
Tencent reworked the video to cut out Redick’s part, but the damage was done and angry Chinese fans flooded Twitter demanding an apology from Redick and accusing him of racism.