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

[dc]

No way ESPN will let her do a monologue about it either. ESPN is owned by Disney, no way Disney is going to take any kind of chance of taking a hit with China. China is beginning to bring in more money for movies than the US, Disney aint risking hurting that relationship.

Yep, that too.

And should be noted that you're unlikely to see Chinese villains in Hollywood based movies in the near future because of that. They're trying to appeal to the Chinese market.

In fact, WB decided not to release the Dark Knight in China simply because one of the villains (Lau) was Chinese, even though he only had a very small role. They just canceled the plan to release in China altogether because they didn't want a formal rejection....which likely means some official from China saw it and just unofficially told them it was likely to be rejected. WB cited "cultural sensitivities in some elements of the film" as the reasons.

[7 Footer]

Always thought Reddit was full of CCP shills, didn't realize RealGM had its share too

A mod saying this, SMFH. The stupid is strong with you.

Knock it off with the Jedi Slanda

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

No way ESPN will let her do a monologue about it either. ESPN is owned by Disney, no way Disney is going to take any kind of chance of taking a hit with China. China is beginning to bring in more money for movies than the US, Disney aint risking hurting that relationship.

Yep, that too.

And should be noted that you're unlikely to see Chinese villains in Hollywood based movies in the near future because of that. They're trying to appeal to the Chinese market.

In fact, WB decided not to release the Dark Knight in China simply because one of the villains (Lau) was Chinese, even though he only had a very small role. They just canceled the plan to release in China altogether because they didn't want a formal rejection....which likely means some official from China saw it and just unofficially told them it was likely to be rejected. WB cited "cultural sensitivities in some elements of the film" as the reasons.

What a shame. The good people of China missed out on a great movie.

[Steelo Green]

Always thought Reddit was full of CCP shills, didn't realize RealGM had its share too

A mod saying this, SMFH. The stupid is strong with you.

The irony. You will respect our birdling overlords.

[yoyoboy]

Always thought Reddit was full of CCP shills, didn't realize RealGM had its share too

A mod saying this, SMFH. The stupid is strong with you.

So we ignore human rights violations in other countries because the countries we live in don't have a clean record?

That means everyone would ignore everything and countries and dictators would be free to do anything without world wide pressure to stop.

It really is disgusting seeing posters essentially defending the awful barbaric things going on in China.

"Oh, you live in the U.S? Well then you can't speak up because the government that represents you has done terrible things."

"Oh, LeBron might not comment on the situation in China? Well then he shouldn't have used his platform to speak out against domestic social issues."

Where has common sense gone? Why are people more concerned with trying to paint people speaking on important issues as hypocrites, rather than looking at the actual issues themselves? Not to mention the fact that so, so many people living in the U.S. are very displeased and vocal about the actions of our government, so it makes no sense to assume that just by living here, we condone their wrongdoings.

[Duffman100]

A mod saying this, SMFH. The stupid is strong with you.

So we ignore human rights violations in other countries because the countries we live in don't have a clean record?

That means everyone would ignore everything and countries and dictators would be free to do anything without world wide pressure to stop.

It really is disgusting seeing posters essentially defending the awful barbaric things going on in China.

"Oh, you live in the U.S? Well then you can't speak up because the government that represents you has done terrible things."

"Oh, LeBron might not comment on the situation in China? Well then he shouldn't have used his platform to speak out against domestic social issues."

Where has common sense gone? Why are people more concerned with trying to paint people speaking on important issues as hypocrites, rather than looking at the actual issues themselves? Not to mention the fact that so, so many people living in the U.S. are very displeased and vocal about the actions of our government, so it makes no sense to assume that just by living here, we condone their wrongdoings.

+100.

And the entire concept behind these protests are because they can't afford to let China extradite someone. The government will do it to quell and political dissent, even peaceful dissent. People already go missing from Hong Kong as it is.

[TunaFish]

The Rockets have had their business ties with China suspended. The NBA has apparently repudiated the Rockets GM Morey over his tweet:

"Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong."

Am I alone here but I think the NBA should have stayed out this and let Morey's tweet stand on its own. Isn't it fair for people in Asia to want democracy and for Morey to express his opinion on that. I think it is the NBA that has crossed the line.

[Dominator83]

Another one?

[scrabbarista]

It's the point that politics should stay out of sports no matter how small or big the impact on people which is subjectable. It's starts off with something innocent like topic A, then goes onto topic B then onto topic C. Where is the line before you reach topic X? Nobody knows because the lines vary from each person depending on their perspective.

Yes, I have watched sports shows which have engaged on topics that do bother me. You understand as well as I do that political discussion can be a point of contention to different people. So why allow or encourage this type of controversial discussion when it's not really necessary? Do you really think more good comes out of SJW activism than bad?

Again, when I watch sports I don't want to be riled up by political discussion. This has already happened with the NFL losing a ton of viewership. It happened to Gilette when they offended men by trying to pussify us. Seriously, we don't need this in sports because it will only turn ugly rather than help out the general public.

I'm sympathetic to your perspective and actually agree: I don't follow sports for political information or perspectives, and sometimes political statements from sports personalities actually make me like them more or less. (It almost always seems to be less, lol.) And I don't need, expect, or want any corporation to force-feed me a facade of virtue. I'm too old for that.

That said, politics is, ultimately, inseparable from life itself. Every lesbian, gay, etc., is someone's son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or sister (or whatever billion other identities they may claim). Every person jailed unfairly, or fairly, is a real person who exists in the real world. So was every draftee in the 60's and 70's. So is every follower of every religion. And every athlete - and every employee of every company. This principle applies to abortion and to property taxes and everything in between. These things have a way of getting into our lives, whether we want them to or not - and they all relate to politics. I make a point of never criticizing any public figure for having an opinion and sharing it, even when I disagree with it. LeBron James, Andrew Bogut, Michael Jordan: have your say. I don't have to listen, and I sure don't have to agree, but c'mon, having political opinions is inherent to being human.

It's one thing when it's an individual and another when it's a corporation like Gillette, the NFL, or the NBA. In the former case, I wholeheartedly support the person's right to stay silent or to speak and say whatever they want; in the latter case, I don't believe a word of it anyway, so I just ignore it as well as I can.

[Dirk]

Always thought Reddit was full of CCP shills, didn't realize RealGM had its share too

A mod saying this, SMFH. The stupid is strong with you.

Knock it off with the Jedi Slanda

Calling Geddy a mod? These personal attacks have no place on this board.

[Zombiesonics]

So Silver said he's backing Morey? Hard to read his response. He's basically tip toing on both sides, not giving a clear answer.

Wouldn’t expect anything less from someone with a legal background like him.


This story is exploding and I doubt he’s going to be able to just “ride it out” with vague statements, which is clearly the strategy.

[Ayt]

Totally agree with this dude.

Many people here including myself have always had issues with the players, coaches or league becoming progressive and forcing their SJW issues down our throats when at the end of the day, all the fans really want is an escape from their real life problems. We don't need to spend our hard earned money to escape to more political BS.

Look at this very site. Why do you think political talk is not allowed on the General Board? Because it is a clear distraction from the real topics that we all want to discuss which is basketball. So why would anyone endorse activism in sports when it causes a huge distraction?

The NBA made this bed imo. They, along with the mainstream media like ESPN, TNT etc. have turned SJW on us. Everybody in the league suddenly thinks that they are some world changer activist with their holier than thou opinions when they should be focusing on what they're good at and what they're getting paid for.

What I find ever more funny and hypocritical is that all these Trump hating activists that are now are silent and bowing down to China whereas Trump is actually the one who is standing up to China and not letting them bully us. Anyone else see the irony in all of this?

So basically, don't talk about politics because you don't agree with them? If Tom Brady kneed down to pay respect to fallen policemen, would you have an issue with it? Athletes are people and they can talk about topics like normal people talk about.

And there is no irony. Trump standing up to China is basically him trying to start something he has no clue how to finish, but it looks good to the America public. The trade war has been a disaster. If he really want to stand up to China, why doesn't he pull Ivanka's business out of there? Why doesn't he stop trading with China until they let Hong Kong go? Why doesn't Trump openly side with Hong Kong? Trump made millions off of China but he is standing up to them?

Yes I would have issue with it if it's done during the game. I don't discriminate between race, I simply feel that there is no place for politics during sporting events because it can smart off trivial but then where's the line? As we are witnessing now it could easily spiral into something much bigger and even financially catastrophic for the league.

If you want to push your political agenda, do it on your own time and use proper judgement. Just because it's a free country doesn''t mean that you can say whatever you feel like without possible reprucussions especially if it puts your employer in a bad light.

I'm not going to delve deep into the politics because we're not supposed to here. At least Trump is standing up to them, that was my main point. The NBA is doing what exactly? Cowering down to them.

All of this would've never been an issue if the players/leaugue/management/GMs just stayed in their lanes and not think that they're some world changer. Morey tweeted later that knew little on the subject and just posted one perspective, why even bother? How about just STFU and do your job which is GMing?

Like I said, the NBA sort of encouraged this type of mentality, so they made their own bed while many of us think that there's no business for political activism in sports.

I'm imagining someone like you existing back when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Your type must have been furious.

[SlowPaced]

Adam Silver is a hypocrite, his press release pandering to PRC and throwing free speech out of the window is completely contradictory to his façade of social justice advocacy, and he should be called out for it. Tilman Fertitta also needs to be called out, but not for hypocrisy as he has made clear in the past that he's a money-worshipper with zero integrity.

You can't pander to regimes like PRC, there will be no end to their demands, you'll continually pander to them to the point you forget where you stand. PRC's avowed state strategy is to give China a "clean profile" globally and they're willing to employ whatever means necessary, be it censorship, a dedicated army of trolls or investments and things that follow on from such investments. What seems like self-interest in short-term could actually be devastating in the long-term.

[cursedsportsfan]

LOL @ all the US imperialists calling China "authoritarian". LOL @ the same old trite "human rights" card being played once more when NBA teams periodically wear camo. Your terrorist soldiers killed over 10 million (and counting) Arab civilians in less than 30 years, your beloved NBA teams think that's something worth celebrating... but of course the problem is China, right?
Can't wait for the day you get fed your own medicine.

Can't wait for us to get fed our own medicine? And what exactly would that be? Interesting.

You better not watch the NBA or you are one hell of a hypocrite.

[Bornstellar]

This is so lame. China needs to grow TF up. One guy makes a comment and the entire gov is so butthurt they cancel all NBA related events and partnerships? Pretty pathetic behavior

[Duffman100]

This is so lame. China needs to grow TF up. One guy makes a comment and the entire gov is so butthurt they cancel all NBA related events and partnerships? Pretty pathetic behavior

That's the Chinese government. Quell all dissent quickly and harshly.

[Mephariel]

I've already stated my reasons many times on why I care. Because I pay for cable or go to sporting events as a means to de-stress and escape from the real world problems. Why should I pay money for entertainment to be fed something that was not advertised which could possibly get me worked up for no good reason? If I wanted to get worked up, I would engage in political debates and such, there are various other avenues for that.

I've said from day one to keep political BS out of sports and I stand by this. The fact that the NBA was supporting and encouraging this type of behaviour probably pushed others like Morey to follow suit. They've been playing a dangerous game all along and many people like yourself use the argument of "why do you care?" or "where is the harm?'. As you can see the line is very thin between no harm and catastrophic harm as we're witnessing right now.

It' simple. Don't allow engagement of political/SJW BS into the league and you won't get burned.

No offense, but politics have been in sports for decades. And honestly, anytime you pay for anything involving public figures, there will always be a chance politics is involved. You been around for too long not to know that. I don't understand how that bothers you that much. It is not like every game, there is a 30 min segment devoted to politics. You have occasional outbursts from vocal players. Sports is 75% the game, 25% the other stuff. When you think about it, what form of entertainment doesn't have politics? Movies? Sure. Sports? Sure. Music? Sure.

I am not sure what you mean by the NBA supporting and encouraging this type of behavior. Is the NBA supposed to censor speech? If Lebron James isn't allow to speak up, or is discouraged, wouldn't that create even more of a backlash?

Regardless of the company, there will always be a risk of a vocal employee causing a political firestorm. Disney isn't the NBA, but when Liu Yifei, who plays Mulan, spoke up in favor of the Hong Kong police, it created a political nightmare for them too. You can't prevent every incident no matter what your stance is.

It's the point that politics should stay out of sports no matter how small or big the impact on people which is subjectable. It's starts off with something innocent like topic A, then goes onto topic B then onto topic C. Where is the line before you reach topic X? Nobody knows because the lines vary from each person depending on their perspective.

Yes, I have watched sports shows which have engaged on topics that do bother me. You understand as well as I do that political discussion can be a point of contention to different people. So why allow or encourage this type of controversial discussion when it's not really necessary? Do you really think more good comes out of SJW activism than bad?

Again, when I watch sports I don't want to be riled up by political discussion. This has already happened with the NFL losing a ton of viewership. It happened to Gilette when they offended men by trying to pussify us. Seriously, we don't need this in sports because it will only turn ugly rather than help out the general public.

Politics is part of life. In today's arena, players have voices that can reach far beyond any normal person with Twitter, Facebook, etc. There will always be politics in sports because it is human nature to want to speak out on certain things. The NFL is a good example why I don't get why you are all bothered by it. The players protest for 10 minutes during the singing of the anthem. It is not like they are protesting half the game. But people are complaining as if the players got on to their knees after every scrimmage.

Again, I don't see how you can ban political discussion or discourage discussion without getting a enormous amount of backlash. Speaking out for a cause is not a bad thing and yes, it will lead to a firestorm one day. But the NBA will need to learn how to put it out.

[Imon]

This is so lame. China needs to grow TF up. One guy makes a comment and the entire gov is so butthurt they cancel all NBA related events and partnerships? Pretty pathetic behavior

That's the Chinese government. Quell all dissent quickly and harshly.

This isn't new.
For anyone who follows geopolitics China has a long history of cutting diplomatic ties with nations that recognize Taiwan as an independent nation (which they de facto are).

There was once a time when China was a economic backwater (during Mao's rule) and could be ignored by the world. Hilariously when China liberalized their economy to be more free-market under Deng Xiaoping they began to prosper more and now have to be handled more delicately politically.

[cursedsportsfan]

This is so lame. China needs to grow TF up. One guy makes a comment and the entire gov is so butthurt they cancel all NBA related events and partnerships? Pretty pathetic behavior

It's pathetic. The NBA should start worrying about losing American fans.

[Vugivugi]

Lol your government is bombing and destroying whole familys in different countries and the people here are crying about china...greetings from europe