The NBA has had a rough couple of years. Amid COVID-19, racial and political tensions, and human rights campaigns, it has been hard to keep the money flowing.
Specifically, the NBA’s broken relations with China alone cost the league millions. In a chat with the media, Commissioner Adam Silver revealed the details:
NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters this week that China’s response to former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey expressing his support for anti-government Hong Kong protesters in 2019 cost the league hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Others since then have spoken out about their views around China and other places in the world, and if the consequences are that we’re taken off the air or we lose money, we accept that,” Silver told reporters at a news conference Thursday, according to Reuters.
“From a policy standpoint, virtually every Fortune 100 company is doing business in China,” Silver said. “We have an enormous, humongous trade relationship with China. Virtually all the phones in this room, the clothes you are wearing, the shoes you are wearing, are made in China. From a larger societal standpoint, this is something where we have to look to the U.S. government for direction.”
“And if people are suggesting now that we should no longer have trade relations with China, and I don’t think they are, that’s a huge global issue where we will follow the lead from our government,” he continued.
The NBA has made it a priority to stand by virtues, promote freedom and equality for all, and make an impact in the community. When North Carolina passed the HB2 bill, the NBA moved the All-Star game away from Charlotte. When George Floyd had tied under the crushing weight of an arresting officer’s knee, they let players respond with relevant messages.
When it comes to China, though, the NBA has been suspiciously quiet. Besides Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of Hong Kong, the league has said very little about the human rights violations going on there.
At the end of the day, the NBA is a business and they have to protect the bottom line. Still, one has to wonder if the NBA can afford to keep making statements that cost them millions in revenue.
