China cancels NBA stuff / Silver issues statement (pg1) /Ongoing discussion...

[snaquille oatmeal]

Damn ... this statement from a ESPN story.

"We're strongly dissatisfied and oppose Adam Silver's claim to support Morey's right to freedom of expression," the statement read. "We believe that any remarks that challenge national sovereignty and social stability are not within the scope of freedom of speech."

You have idiots in the US talk about state secession (national sovereignty) all the time (I mean, I do live in Texas) but the federal government doesn't start taking things like social security or medicare away from citizens who talk about secession.

Could you imagine what would happen in China to media or individuals who talk about the politburo members the way American media talk about Trump? Those people would be imprisoned for 10 years.

how long do you think Trump would get jailed for because he claimed Obama was born in Kenya? lol

[d00lttle]

Pretty sure NBA will ban any employee who tweets secessionist symbols, like the Confederate flag.

But that would be because of it's links to racism, not separation from the Union. If somebody started a twitter account ranting about how California or Hawaii should split, the league (and the government) wouldn't care.

Southern secessionism is linked to slavery.

Hong Kong separatism is linked to opium and British colonialism.

Lol, so you are saying that those pro democracy protesters in HK are trying to bring back Britsh rule and the opium trade?

[Wigginstime]

I feel like this is a point a lot of people are missing - China has been harassing US companies for a decade to allow the China government to censor all content. Some companies like Apple have agree to bend over for China and heavily profited from it; however, a lot of companies have openly defied China and are doing just fine:

Google cut ties in 2010 with China after refusing to allow China to censor their search engine results
Facebook cut ties in 2009 after refusing to censor
Twitter cut ties the same time Facebook did

The NBA needs to following the path of Google and Facebook and not bend over backwards like Apple does.

[PD28]

South Park just recently had all of their episodes blocked in China as well due to an unfavorable espisode that was just aired. They just tweeted out their "apology" as well. I really wish Silver would have taken this route...

I wasn't aware of this comparison before but that is hilarious!

[LofJ]

But that would be because of it's links to racism, not separation from the Union. If somebody started a twitter account ranting about how California or Hawaii should split, the league (and the government) wouldn't care.

Southern secessionism is linked to slavery.

Hong Kong separatism is linked to opium and British colonialism.

Lol, so you are saying that those pro democracy protesters in HK are trying to bring back Britsh rule and the opium trade?

The not so funny thing about that is the fact that China is currently shipping fentanyl into the US. They're doing the same thing that the Western powers did to them in the colonial era.

The US and China are engaging in a new cold war, I wonder how long it's going to take for people to realize it.

[Karate Diop]

I feel like this is a point a lot of people are missing - China has been harassing US companies for a decade to allow the China government to censor all content. Some companies like Apple have agree to bend over for China and heavily profited from it; however, a lot of companies have openly defied China and are doing just fine:

Google cut ties in 2010 with China after refusing to allow China to censor their search engine results
Facebook cut ties in 2009 after refusing to censor
Twitter cut ties the same time Facebook did

The NBA needs to following the path of Google and Facebook and not bend over backwards like Apple does.

Preach.

The NBA should also challenge China to a basketball match, then up the embarrassment by whooping them 4 on 5.

N-B-A! N-B-A! N-B-A!

[HeartBreakKid]

Cringe history in this thread...Hong Kong wasn't even a city before the Opium Wars. People really stretching trying to relate the bloody opium wars with Hong Kong's 2 governments 1 country policy.

[peja_the_legend]

Morey's an idiot, I think he deserves to be fired but he can't because of the **** it will create. Like honestly, I expect this out of a 21 year old poli-sci student not a 40+ grown man. What effect was really looking for when he tweeted? Was his tweet going inspire the masses? His tweet was just Tweetavism and is now costing his employer's as well their employers hundreds of millions of dollars because he wanted to feel good about himself while doing nothing.

If he really cared, he could A) Go to Hong Kong and protest. B) Donate to funds helping Hong Kong C) Talk to US elected officals and try to use his influence and wealth to do something. Not tweet like a pansy.

Also, for people saying this a freedom of speech/expression issue. It isn't. Freedom of speech only saves you from persecution from the government.

Amen.Morey is one of the smartest NBA executives.It blows my mind that he would tweet sth like this on China's independence day nonetheless.What the hell was he expecting if not for this predictable ****.

[Buckeye-NBAFan]

Personally my thoughts on the matter goes as far as this: Hong Kong is a symbol of British imperialism in the West that shouldn't exist and what China does with what's rightfully there's is their business. As a citizen of the West the criticism of China to me is a criticism of people lashing out against Western imperialism similar to the massive hate for Zimbabwe and the massive lashing out against South Africa when they said they were going to start forcing people to sell the government land.

You brought up Chinese freedom of speech violations as a whataboutism, deal with that same energy back (IDK what started this all I just saw your comment and felt it was a bit arrogant).

So all the current citizens, who have lived in a different situation? **** them? All those journalists, bloggers, etc, who have spoken out against Chinese human rights issues, you're basically signing their death sentence).

There's no whataboutism. China regularly prevents any criticism of their government and journalists who persist often are never seen again. There's no defending that. That's wrong.

I'm not defending it, I'm saying it's not my place to criticize it. The current citizens are citizens of China last I checked so I'm not defending them in a not so thinly veiled attempt of defending western imperialism. All types of freedom of speech issues pop up concerning the NBA but I don't remember nearly this much outrage when Turkey refused to show Portland's playoff games. Not hard to see why if you take 2 seconds to read between the lines.

Let's be clear about what happened.

Morey, a US citizen working for a US company, on his private Twitter account, a site which is banned in China, retweeted "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong", then deleted it 5 minutes later.

The Chinese government shutdown a $4,000,000,000 Chinese subsidy of the US business Morey works for in response.

[Liminy]

Their top leader is so butt hurt about Winnie the Pooh, what else would you expect?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using RealGM mobile app

Would this be like Trump banning Cheetos ?

Yes. And then executing Alec Baldwin and sticking Mormons in education camps. And don't speak out against Fox News or they'll take your internet and driver's license.

The people of China only put up with it because the growth over the last 30 years has been insane. It's slowing now and companies are moving to South East Asia and India where labour is 1/3 the cost.

Xi clamping down tighter and tighter because he knows the people won't put up with it much longer. The communist party in China is going to look real ugly in 10 years or so.

Its a good lesson for a lot of companies that thought they could make a fortune there. They don't understand what Communism really is.

[Benedict_Boozer]

The NBA must have had a meeting and decided that having integrity in America is more important than appeasing China, hence this statement.

I don’t think any of the US fans want to see us bending over publicly and groveling to China. Silver recognized this after his “non-statement” and quickly reversed course.

Kudos to him, actually quite surprised he did it.

[picc]

One of those rare situations where literally everyone involved looks bad.

EVERYONE.

[13th Man]

So all the current citizens, who have lived in a different situation? **** them? All those journalists, bloggers, etc, who have spoken out against Chinese human rights issues, you're basically signing their death sentence).

There's no whataboutism. China regularly prevents any criticism of their government and journalists who persist often are never seen again. There's no defending that. That's wrong.

I'm not defending it, I'm saying it's not my place to criticize it. The current citizens are citizens of China last I checked so I'm not defending them in a not so thinly veiled attempt of defending western imperialism. All types of freedom of speech issues pop up concerning the NBA but I don't remember nearly this much outrage when Turkey refused to show Portland's playoff games. Not hard to see why if you take 2 seconds to read between the lines.

Let's be clear about what happened.

Morey, a US citizen working for a US company, on his private Twitter account, a site which is banned in China, retweeted "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong", then deleted it 5 minutes later.

The Chinese government shutdown a $4,000,000,000 Chinese subsidy of the US business Morey works for in response.

Still very poor judgement on Morey's part, he should have known better. If you're tweeting something that you have to delete 5 minutes later then it's probably not a good idea to tweet it out in the first place.

Of all the GMs to be making the tweet, Morey should've been the last with all of the ties that the Chinese have with the Rockets If you don't understand the makeup of their country and their way of thinking then don't go SJW pretending that you know what's best for them

[clyde21]

dumbfounding to me how its Hong Kong, not the literal holocaust in Xinjiang, that is the center of debate about freedom and human rights.

disgusting across the board.

[E-Balla]

So all the current citizens, who have lived in a different situation? **** them? All those journalists, bloggers, etc, who have spoken out against Chinese human rights issues, you're basically signing their death sentence).

There's no whataboutism. China regularly prevents any criticism of their government and journalists who persist often are never seen again. There's no defending that. That's wrong.

I'm not defending it, I'm saying it's not my place to criticize it. The current citizens are citizens of China last I checked so I'm not defending them in a not so thinly veiled attempt of defending western imperialism. All types of freedom of speech issues pop up concerning the NBA but I don't remember nearly this much outrage when Turkey refused to show Portland's playoff games. Not hard to see why if you take 2 seconds to read between the lines.

A) That's obviously a complicated situation
B) There has been constant outrage over Turkey and their dictator.

I'm talking specifically in the context of the NBA. Do you remember the 20 page thread or statements from Silver/Morey on the ongoing unrest in Turkey? Not really. Like you said it's all complicated, personally I choose to butt out because there's no good side here. One is an authoritarian regime. The other is Western imperialism. I'm not making that fight either way.

[E-Balla]

dumbfounding to me how its Hong Kong, not the literal holocaust in Xinjiang, that is the center of debate about freedom and human rights.

disgusting across the board.

Western imperialism will always get more defense from the powers at be than the ethnic cleansing/genocide of Muslims. You know what it is Clyde you had free Palestine in your sig at one point iirc.

[Curmudgeon]

China isn't communist any more. I doubt if modern day Shanghai is what Marx had in mind as his workers paradise. China is just another capitalist dictatorship trying to stifle dissent.

China started the war, not the NBA. Silver is free to bend over, but the NBA isn't defenseless.

[GregB]

Glad silver showing a little spine. **** China. Sorry that you don’t like freedom of expression. **** their whinnie the Pooh looking dictator.

I wasn't aware that comparison was a thing until South Park. Had to look up the story. Could you imagine if the US banned cartoons because of comparisons to our politicians?

You also can’t google search it on the Chinese internet either.

[E-Balla]

So all the current citizens, who have lived in a different situation? **** them? All those journalists, bloggers, etc, who have spoken out against Chinese human rights issues, you're basically signing their death sentence).

There's no whataboutism. China regularly prevents any criticism of their government and journalists who persist often are never seen again. There's no defending that. That's wrong.

I'm not defending it, I'm saying it's not my place to criticize it. The current citizens are citizens of China last I checked so I'm not defending them in a not so thinly veiled attempt of defending western imperialism. All types of freedom of speech issues pop up concerning the NBA but I don't remember nearly this much outrage when Turkey refused to show Portland's playoff games. Not hard to see why if you take 2 seconds to read between the lines.

Let's be clear about what happened.

Morey, a US citizen working for a US company, on his private Twitter account, a site which is banned in China, retweeted "Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong", then deleted it 5 minutes later.

The Chinese government shutdown a $4,000,000,000 Chinese subsidy of the US business Morey works for in response.

Like I said a not so thinly veiled attempt at defending western imperialism.

[lakerz12]

What if it were a drunk tweet?

Any chance it could be swept under the rug or does that make it worse?