The NBA is a huge sports governing body – their decisions on certain matters can get very hypocritical.
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The NBA does not just exist to host draft nights and play out an 82-game season with 30 teams to crown a champion. Yes, that is their main objective, but not the only one. They exist to make sure that no extraneous forces affect the quality of the sport and to protect the values held by the players and teams.
A lot of spokespeople have always commented, rather bluntly so, to keep politics out of sports. Sports for many is considered an escape from reality – a tool through which people forget the darkness enveloping the world. But people who have been bestowed such power and recognition also cannot stay mum about atrocities they witness and can fix if given the tools.
It is not just the “Woke” Culture that is active in the political scene, but genuine champions for justice as well. LeBron James may be ill-informed on certain matters of politics, but he also has the civic duty to run a multi-million dollar school that empowers underprivileged kids. But from LeBron James, we have one important lesson to learn – Do not be a Hypocrite.
The story of how Bron called out Daryl Morey is one that everyone is familiar with. It was also the story that exposed the Lakers star as a man who picks and chooses what he stands for. A self-labeled champion of justice was actively calling out a peer for standing up for the right thing – while Bron himself wore shoes that read “EQUALITY FOR ALL”.
The NBA is a silent spectator when it comes to China – They know the revenue from this one country is spectacularly huge
At the end of a long-awaited revision to the country’s law on sports, the authorities reserved the right to strike back at any country, region, or organization involved in global sports that are perceived as insulting China’s dignity and interests. This means that for any person/athlete who has or had said anything against the CCP, action can be taken against them.
This means that if China does not like actions from a part of a particular enterprise, they can choose to stop business with them altogether. For a country that has strong communist ties, they know how to play the game of capitalism. It is not just the NBA, but also other leagues.
Premier League for example has one of the highest viewerships in China, and Mesut Ozil, an ex-Arsenal player spoke out about the horrendous treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China. he went from being a world superstar to a nobody in three years. He got exiled from the club, which distanced itself from his statement. They chose money over their player, selling all the morals they have for a fat paycheck.
LeBron James is one such player whose name comes up when the topic of China comes up
When then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for Hong Kong protesters in October 2019, China responded by blocking NBA broadcasts for 18 months. A heavy revenue loss for the NBA, and they have been silent about all the misdemeanors ever since. From having their jerseys made in sweatshops in China, to being hogtied because of the same country, the NBA has a lot of silent moments.
It is understandable from a business perspective because the league stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. 750 million to be precise, by the year 2025. That is the estimated amount that is being projected in terms of total revenue from one country alone. Any business when faced with a loss of 3 quarters of a billion dollars will discard their gangrenous appendages like yesterday’s chutney.
This puts a lot of players with a moral compass in a dilemma – play without raising concerns and be a sellout, or raise their voice, to lose their only source of revenue. Whatever happens, China has the game in a neat little bow. It is China’s world, we are just living in it.
Adam Silver may be a great commissioner for the NBA but needs to be more consistent in his viewpoints on politics. Selective choosing cannot fly, not in the land of the free.
