Tencent pulls Boston Celtics games after Enes Kanter criticises Xi Jinping over Tibet
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Tencent, which has exclusive streaming rights for NBA games in China, has stopped streaming Boston Celtics games online following centre Enes Kanter’s criticism of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The centre also wore shoes with the words “Free Tibet” emblazoned on them at the team’s season opener against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The highlights of the game have since been removed from the streaming platform and it appears that future Celtics games are unavailable to stream.
Tencent does not show Philadelphia 76ers games, where Morey is now the president of basketball operations after he was named to the role in November of 2020, just as the platform did not show Rockets games when Morey was the general manager there.
Games involving the 76ers, who opened their season last night as well against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Celtics are not available for “reservation” on Tencent, which means the app or website will notify subscribers when the game is on.