Noah Vonleh recently took to Instagram to share his distressing experience playing for the Shanghai Sharks, revealing numerous issues with the organization. His detailed posts shed light on the challenges and unprofessional conduct he faced while playing in China.
“Smh it was a crazy year playing in China! Shanghai Sharks by far worst organization l’ve ever been a part of…Very unprofessional. They still owe me my playoff bonus from 21/22 season. They also still owe me the remaining balance of my salary for the 23/24 season.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C8v6yWku7VU
Vonleh described his time with the Shanghai Sharks as extremely difficult, citing it as the worst organization he has ever been a part of. He mentioned that the team still owes him his playoff bonus from the 2021-2022 season and the remaining balance of his salary for the 2023-2024 season. This lack of financial integrity was just the tip of the iceberg.
“I was dealing with an injury during the season and it was taking longer than expected for me return. The Sharks tried to rush me back many times and told team doctors and doctors outside of the team to lie to me and tell me l’m ok to play.”
“I sent my MRI results to doctors in the states and they had different opinions and confirmed I wasn’t ready to return to play. Because the injury was taking too long the Sharks were trying to find ways to terminate my contract on a fully guaranteed deal. They wrongfully terminated the contract on February 26th, 2024.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C8v8bSEuJdx
During the season, Vonleh suffered an injury that took longer than expected to heal. The Sharks, eager to have him back on the court, pressured him to return before he was fully recovered. They even instructed team doctors and external doctors to lie about his fitness to play.
However, Vonleh sought second opinions from doctors in the United States, who confirmed that he was not ready to return to play. Despite this, the Sharks tried to find ways to terminate his fully guaranteed contract, eventually wrongfully terminating it in February 2024.
“They started off sending out warnings to my Chinese agents saying I wasnt showing up to practice. Chinese agents never responded to any of the warnings when I told them to. After the third warning the Sharks sent the agents a termination notice.”
“The Sharks called board members from the CBA office to come in and investigate to see if their claims to terminate were valid. The league saw based off of security footage they were wrong and should of never terminated the contract. I was present at practice everyday.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C8v9-CRuXcE
The Sharks’ management went to great lengths to justify their actions. They falsely accused Vonleh of not attending practices and sent warnings to his Chinese agents, who did not respond. An investigation by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) revealed that the Sharks’ claims were baseless, as security footage confirmed Vonleh’s presence at every practice.
“After my contract was wrongfully terminated, CBA All Star weekend was a couple days away. I decided it was a good idea to go. The general manager of the Sharks was informed I was gonna be attending and was nervous and scared of what could happen.”
“He called for a meeting at the All Star Hotel to try and get me back to the team, but the terms he presented were not in my best interest. He wanted to fly back to Shanghai together and go back with this Kumbaya story like everything was all good but I wasn’t with it.”
“In March the third and final stage of the season begins. I’m asking for meetings with the team to figure out how to get my remaining salary since I’m on a fully guaranteed deal and they no longer want me on team.”
“I want all my money since I’m on a fully guaranteed contract, but know based off my previous experience they’re gonna be on some BS and not give everything so I decide l’ll take a bit less. They declined the requests for meetings and always have excuses for why.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C8wAIflu2aH
The situation further deteriorated when the Sharks attempted to reconcile during the CBA All-Star weekend, proposing terms that were not in Vonleh’s best interest. As the season progressed, Vonleh sought a peaceful resolution to secure his remaining salary but faced constant excuses and refusals for meetings from the Sharks.
“I told them many times I want to handle it peacefully and we can go our separate ways but they didn’t want to. I goto a couple games and the fans and everyone is wondering what is going on because they don’t want to release a statement on the situation after the league told them they have no right to do what they are trying to do such as terminating the contract and issuing unnecessary fines.”
“I get back to the hotel after attending one of the games. Now the General manager wants to have my room canceled. The general manager tells the hotel to send people to my room to force me out of there.”
“There’s six people coming to my room trying to break in and grab me out the room. They using weapons to try and break in and threatening me saying all kind of things.”
The conflict reached a terrifying climax when the general manager of the Sharks tried to force Vonleh out of his hotel room. Six individuals attempted to break into his room using weapons, threatening him in the process. This incident underscored the lengths the Sharks were willing to go to in order to intimidate and control him.
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C8wDsMgOk0p
Noah Vonleh’s account paints a disturbing picture of his time with the Shanghai Sharks, highlighting the severe lack of professionalism and respect he experienced.
https://www.instagram.com/p/p:C8wFuXBufmg
His ordeal serves as a stark reminder of the challenges and risks athletes can face when playing abroad, especially when dealing with organizations that do not prioritize their well-being and contractual obligations.
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