A pre-season match scheduled in Shanghai was held on the 10th, as tensions between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and China increased. While popular team executives supported the Hong Kong demonstrations, as public opinion and authorities rebounded strongly, the game was not aired on TV in China, and exchange events with fans were canceled one after another.
The pre-season match between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets was held as scheduled at the stadium in Shanghai on the 10th night. However, there were also spectators with Chinese flags and patriotic placards at the venue.
Men in their twenties who came to watch the game were accused of tweeting images of "Let's fight for freedom" and "Let's stand up with Hong Kong" by Houston Rockets' Daryl Morley GM who triggered the riot. “Morley, apologize or lose,” “Hong Kong belongs to China,” and so on. “I like NBA players, but I respect Mao Zedong”.
On the other hand, a man in his thirties said, “It has already been a problem of ethnic ideology. While public opinion was leaning toward criticism of the NBA, it seemed that some of those who came to watch the game were trying to show a position that they had not forgotten their patriotism.
NBA's Adam Silver Commissioner said in a conference held in Japan on the 8th that Mr. Morley remarked that he could "understand" that the backlash had spread to the Chinese side, but that he would not regulate freedom of expression. There wasn't. The Chinese side sees this as a problem, and China Central Television has decided not to broadcast the match. Chinese companies announced that they would review their relationship with the NBA one after another, and the exchange events between the players and fans that had been scheduled before the match were also cancelled.
Mr. Silver, who said that he wanted to talk after he arrived in China, has been silent since entering Shanghai. The press conference for players and Mr. Silver, which was supposed to be on the 10th, has also been cancelled. On China's SNS, we started to make a dangerous statement, “If we say free speech, we should support 9/11 (which refers to the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001)”.
NBA has so far made China important ...
