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© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.With China rift ongoing, NBA commissioner says league will support freedom of speech
By STEPHEN WADE and TIM REYNOLDS TOKYO©2021 GPlusMedia Inc.
20 Comments
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KariHaruka
Of course the Chinazi are upset. They don't like it when their authority is questioned.
Hopefully though, Winnie the Pooh is huffing and puffing as we speak!
Yubaru
I dont know why, but I bust out laughing when I read this comment! Once again China thinking it can control the thoughts and speech of people half a world away!
ushosh123
How vested is the investment of the NBA in China? Sure China is a huge market but then again if any entity can say "so be it" to China, it would be the NBA.
CrazyJoe
Here in the USA it is the very essence of our freedom.
Burning Bush
The Chinese have a long memory.
Divisive comments from foreigners will not be tolerated.
Strangerland
Freedom of speech - just watch what you say.
Dango bong
LeBron the social justice warrior is awfully quiet now. I guess social justice only matters when it does not cost you Chinese endorsements...
stormcrow
It's good to see somebody taking the highroad for a change. The NBA might lose financially in the short term, but it'll gain more in the long run.
Way to go commissioner!
goldorak
Bang on. James Harden's apology lol. Virtue signaling hypocrites & frauds, zero credibility.
quercetum
You already have the freedom of speech. Now go after the money
Sh1mon M4sada
meh communist controlled floutrage. Ignore them, they don't deserve a good game.
Laguna
Fine. No basketball for you! American athletes, both male and female, are some of the most outspoken people in the world. If you can't stand the heat, the kitchen will be taken away from you.
Mocheake
Stay in your lane, China. Can't control the rest of the world like you do at home. Don't show the games and guess what? The league and the world goes on without you. Swish.
Muratafan
China is interesting and getting more and more brazen by the day. This isn't going away anytime soon. This is heading towards a Cold War and a very long one at that. Silver should know that the CCP controls everything in China and it wouldn't be long before China played this hand. The CCP tries to weaponize everything without actually resorting to violence - provided, of course, that the CCP thinks it can 'win'. Otherwise, they whine like the little brats that they truly are.
Wesley
NBA has long survived without china. It will continue to survive without china. Let the communist dictators cancel as many games as they want; it's the china fans' loss.
Go USA!
1glenn
Seems to me Xi is over-reacting.
London_Bhoy
I take my hat off to China in that it's a brilliant way to dominate foreign policy. You get companies (and countries) addicted to huge money and then threaten to withdraw that money if they don't tow the line on foreign policy. So far it's working. The majority of western companies offer grovelling apologies and tow the CCP party line afraid of losing their access to the market. China has even got countries to withdraw support from Taiwan using this same method. A few years ago, the UK government was unhappy with China in Hong Kong. The Chinese didn't like this so they pressurised British businesses in mainland China. Those businesses went to the government to get them back down and the government did. It's a brilliant tactic and a lot cheaper than an armed conflict. Until the western addiction to Chinese money and cheap labour stops, this will continue to go on. And at the moment, China is winning.
funkymofo
Most fragile thing in existence - the Chinese heart.
mmwkdw
This is the biggest lie of them all... China blocks Twitter, so how can whatever is written upon the platform find its way to the Chinese Mainlanders ? China is trying to impose it's own regime upon the rest of the World through threats of cutting off access to their Market! NBA, FIFA, etc should all turn their backs on China... then lets see what happens! Time to get rid of the CCP.
Concerned Citizen
Great to see the NBA standing up for freedom to criticise China.
Will they also officially criticize and boycott the Chinese for thier oppression and arrests of the HK freedom protesters like they removed the planned 2017 NBA All-Star Game from Charlotte as punishment for the bathroom bill which was designed to protect little girls from potential predator men masquerading as women?
Not expecting it. Hypocrites. Lecturing everyone else about morality.