NBA exiting China ‘should be for US government to decide’, says Adam Silver
- NBA commissioner Adam Silver points to long-standing push for expansion into China backed by governments on both sides of the aisle
- League’s relationship with China increasingly politicised amid backdrop of support for Black Lives Matter and US social justice
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said the decision to whether the league should do business in China should rest with the US government.
Speaking to CNN’s Bob Costas in a Tuesday interview, Silver responded to a question about the NBA’s stance on China amid deteriorating US-China relations and allegations of widespread human rights abuses.
“There are definitely trade-offs there, and somebody could say given the system of government in China, you the NBA should make a decision not to operate there,” Silver said.
“I would only say that at the end of the day, I think those are decisions for our government in terms of where American businesses should operate.”
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As the league has shown increasing public support for the Black Lives Matter movement and social justice causes in the US it has come under increasing criticism for its ongoing relationship with China, with several people demanding it leave the country.
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The NBA China Games, preseason matches between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers in Shanghai and Shenzhen, were almost cancelled.
“We could’ve decided because they took us off CCTV that therefore we should, in essence, take our ball and go home and stop operating there,” Silver continued.
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“The fact is our games continue to be streamed on Tencent in China and we’ve continued in there.”
CNN had been criticised for a July interview between Silver and presenter Wolf Blitzer where China was not raised but Costas did not shirk an issue that has become increasingly politicised in recent months.
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“How does the NBA, league of social justice, reconcile its ongoing with a major and brutal human rights abuser like China?” Costas asked Silver.
“Until very recent history, at the encouragement of the State Departments of various administrations on both sides of the aisle, it was viewed as a really positive thing that we were exporting American values to China through the NBA,” he said.
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“There was a decision that it was good for the world to build these relationships through sports,” Silver said. “The thought was, these cultural exchanges were critically important, especially at times when normal channels weren’t operating for diplomatic conversations.”
Silver wants to see such exchanges, as previously supported by the US government, continue.
“I continue to believe that the people-to-people exchanges we’re seeing by playing in China are positive,” Silver told Costas. “It helps cultures learn about each other, it allows us to export American values to China.”
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However, Silver also told Costas that a late start to the NBA’s next season – possibly as late as next January – could see the league’s stars miss out on the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which have been moved to next July.
