NBA Chief Adam Silver Defends Freedom of Expression in Face Off With China

As China’s outrage against the National Basketball Association intensified in the wake of a tweet over the Hong Kong protests, the U.S. league dug its heels in to defend freedom of expression.

Hours after China’s state television and Tencent Holdings Ltd. said that they would halt airing and streaming preseason games in the country with 800 million fans, Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters Tuesday that the NBA won’t tell people what they can or can’t say.

“It is inevitable that people around the world -- including from America and China -- will have different viewpoints over different issues,” Silver said in a separate statement issued before the press conference. “However, the NBA will not put itself in a position of regulating what players, employees and team owners say or will not say on these issues. We simply could not operate that way.”

His comments put the NBA in direct confrontation with Beijing, which has viewed any hint of support for the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong as a challenge to the nation’s sovereignty. Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team, triggered the controversy with his tweet Friday -- deleted later -- supporting the demonstrators. That sparked fury from supporters of the Communist government, casting a shadow over the NBA’s ties with one of its most promising markets.

Silver declined to apologize for the tweet, but said that he regretted the consequences. “It’s not something that we expected to happen,” he told reporters. “I think it’s unfortunate,” he said, referring to China’s decision not to broadcast some of the games.

“To the extent that we are upsetting people, I regret that,” he said.

The pro-democracy movement that has rocked Hong Kong since June has become a red line for companies doing business in China. The targeting of the NBA by China is the latest episode of China flexing its muscle against businesses that have failed to toe its official line. Coming under intense pressure after some employees participated in the marches, the chief executive officer and the chairman of Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. stepped down, as the carrier cracked down on its workers.

“The implicit threat is that there will be a price to pay for companies that do not actively support Beijing’s political stance on Hong Kong,” said Hugo Brennan, principal Asia analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. “This trend is an emerging risk for corporates of all stripes that have exposure to the mainland market.”

China’s CCTV said Tuesday that it would halt broadcasts of the NBA’s preseason games and that it’s investigating “all cooperation and exchanges with the NBA,” which would include the broadcast of its full season. Tencent, which has the rights for digital broadcasts, followed with its announcement within hours.

While Morey’s tweet incited anger in China, Silver’s comments to Kyodo News earlier defending the Rockets official’s right to freedom of expression sparked further outrage, resulting in CCTV’s decision.

The broadcaster pointed specifically to Silver’s comments as the reason for its decision. “We strongly object to this statement,” the post said. “We believe that any comment that challenges China’s sovereignty does not belong in the scope of free expression.”

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