NBA-China: US Muslim group calls on league to cease collaboration with Chinese Communist Party
- Council on American-Islamic Relations urges league to ‘stand on the right side of history’ over Uygur oppression in Xinjiang
- Pressure group likens human rights abuses to Nazi Germany amid growing pressure on NBA from US politicians
The largest Muslim pressure group in the US has added its voice to those calling for the NBA to cease its China operations in a letter to league commissioner Adam Silver.
On Monday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) asked that the NBA “stand on the right side of history by announcing that it will cease all operations in China unless and until its government ceases its persecution of millions of innocent people”.
They urged the NBA “to prioritise its ‘commitment to social justice over profits’ by ending all collaboration with the Chinese Communist Party until the government ceases its ongoing campaign of genocide against the country’s Uygur Muslim minority”.
CAIR “specifically called on the league to fulfil and verify its pledge to close its training academy in Xinjiang province, end its policy of banning Americans from bringing signs that express support for Uygur human rights to US stadiums, and cease all operations that benefit the genocidal Chinese government, including earning revenue from broadcasting games and licensing merchandise.”
None of the NBA’s 30 preapproved social justice messages that players can wear instead of their names on jerseys relate to China or Uygurs.