Chinese workers have been filmed ripping down NBA advertisements after state broadcasters vowed not to air this week’s preseason games in China as the backlash from the freedom of speech row continues.
The NBA postponed scheduled media sessions in Shanghai for the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers where both teams were training on Wednesday.
It remains unclear if the teams will play in China this week as scheduled given the ongoing rift that started after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet last week that showed support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.
Footage has emerged of workers in multiple spots around Shanghai using machinery to remove large roadside NBA promotional signs that were advertising a preseason game between the Lakers and Nets scheduled for Thursday.
The teams are also supposed to play Saturday in Shenzhen.
‘Given the fluidity of the situation, today’s media availability has been postponed,’ the NBA said of canceling its Nets-Lakers media session.
Chinese workers have been filmed ripping down NBA signs in Shanghai after state broadcasters vowed not to air this week’s preseason games in China as the backlash from the freedom of speech row continues
A worker can be seen taking down a billboard advertising an NBA preseason basketball game on Thursday between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets in Shanghai
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was due to arrive in Shanghai on Wednesday for what is expected to be crisis talks after saying a day earlier that he supports Morey’s right to free speech.
‘I’m sympathetic to our interests here and to our partners who are upset,’ Silver said at a press conference addressing the controversy.
‘I don’t think it’s inconsistent on one hand to be sympathetic to them and at the same time stand by our principles.’
At least two other NBA events in advance of the start of the China games were also been called off this week as the backlash continued.
An NBA Cares event that was to benefit Special Olympics was called off, as was a ‘fan night’ celebration which was to be highlighted by the league announcing plans to refurbish some outdoor courts in Shanghai.
Several Chinese companies have suspended their partnership with the NBA in recent days, and Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said it will not broadcast preseason games.
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has joined the list of companies that have suspended – for now, at least – ties with the NBA, and that only adds to the uncertainty over whether the China games will be played.
Vivo was a presenting sponsor of the Lakers-Nets games, and on Wednesday there was no reference to the game in Shanghai on the list of upcoming events scheduled at Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Footage has emerged of workers in multiple spots around Shanghai using machinery to remove large roadside NBA promotional signs
A worker removes a large poster from a building ahead of NBA Shanghai Game 2019 between Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers at the Lujiazui Zhengda Plaza
Workers in multiple spots around Shanghai removed large roadside NBA promotional signs that were advertising a preseason game between the Lakers and Nets scheduled for Thursday
Many murals featuring the Rockets – even ones with Yao Ming, the Chinese great who played for Houston during his NBA career – were also being painted over
Other firms such as apparel company Li-Ning announced similar moves earlier this week, as the rift was just beginning.
All around China, stores that sell NBA merchandise were removing Rockets-related apparel from shelves. Many murals featuring the Rockets – even ones with Yao Ming, the Chinese great who played for Houston during his NBA career – were also being painted over.
The Rockets are widely followed in China, partly because they drafted Yao Ming in 2002, who became a star for Houston and helped build the NBA’s following in China.
The NBA has worked for years to cultivate the Chinese market and regularly plays exhibition games there. Its top stars, including Rockets guard James Harden, frequently visit to meet fans and take part in promotions with sponsors.
It is likely that Silver has or will meet with Yao.
Silver said on Tuesday that Yao, who is now the Chinese basketball chief, is ‘extremely hot’ over the controversy sparked by Morey’s pro-democracy tweet.
He said he hoped to work with Yao to cool the escalating dispute after saying variously that he was ‘extremely upset’, ‘extremely unsettled’ and ‘extremely hot’.
‘I am hoping that together, Yao Ming and I can find an accommodation,’ said Silver, who visits Yao’s hometown of Shanghai on Wednesday for two pre-season exhibition games.
‘But he is extremely hot at the moment and I understand it.’
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was due to arrive in Shanghai on Wednesday for what is expected to be crisis talks after saying a day earlier that he supports Morey’s right to free speech
Although the two league bosses would be expected to meet as the NBA stages its annual China pre-season exhibition games, Silver did not explicitly confirm that a meeting would take place.
Silver said the NBA had ‘communicated directly’ with Yao over the controversy.
‘I am not sure he quite accepts how we are operating our business right now, and I accept that we have a difference of opinion,’ Silver said.
Houston Rockets’ general manager, Daryl Morey, apologized on Monday for the now-deleted tweet in support of the Hong Kong protests
‘I don’t come here to tell others how to run their governments… But at the end of the day I am an American and there are these values that are deeply rooted in the DNA of the NBA, and that includes freedom of expression for our employees.’
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich spoke out Tuesday in Miami in support of how Silver is handling the situation and said it ‘wasn’t easy for him to say’.
‘He said that in an environment fraught with possible economic peril. But he sided with the principles that we all hold dearly, or most of us did until the last three years. So I’m thrilled with what he said.’
Other NBA coaches have not been so willing to discuss the situation.
Philadelphia’s Brett Brown said he did not wish to get into specifics of the China-NBA rift, though said he has been to that country many times and is always blown away by how popular the game is there.
‘Just massive amounts of basketball courts and you’re looking out and there’s no available court,’ Brown said. ‘It’s just people playing on a court. I took a (lower-level) Australian team to China and the story comes there was 400 million viewers watching not the true national team. You’re just reminded of the popularity of the sport.’
Houston Rockets’ general manager, Daryl Morey, apologized on Monday for the tweet he swiftly deleted over the weekend that included an image of the activists’ rally cry: ‘Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong’
Former Rockets player Yao Ming, who is now the Chinese basketball chief, is ‘extremely hot’ over the controversy sparked by Morey’s pro-democracy tweet
The NBA is not the first major corporation to deal with criticism from China over political differences. Mercedes-Benz, Delta Air Lines, hotel operator Marriott, fashion brand Zara and others also have found themselves in conflicts with China in recent years.
It comes as Chinese business have said they will no longer cooperate with the Rockets in the wake of the controversy.
In addition to CCTV refusing to broadcast NBA pre-season exhibition games this week, the broadcaster vowed to not show any future Rockets games.
Tencent Sports, which is the NBA’s digital partner in China, also said it would suspend live streaming for future Rockets games. They also said they would not cover or post news about the team.
Sportswear brand Li-Ning and sponsor Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPD Bank) Credit Card Center said on Sunday they were suspending cooperation with the Rockets.
‘We want to express our indignation and strong condemnation,’ read a statement from Li-Ning, published on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.
‘We have already stopped our cooperation with the Houston Rockets and continue to urge them to give a clear answer on this matter.’
China’s SPD Bank also said on Sunday that it has suspended related marketing activities and publicity.
‘SPD Bank Credit Card Center expresses strong protest and opposition to the wrong remarks made by Houston Rockets’ General Manager Daryl Morey,’ the bank said in a statement on its Weibo account.
Neither statements said whether the decisions were permanent.
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo, a key sponsor for the exhibition games in China, announced on Tuesday it was suspending all ties with the NBA, underscoring the strength of the backlash in the country.
Chinese sportswear maker ANTA Sports Products Ltd, which has endorsement contracts with several NBA players including Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson and Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, also said on Tuesday it was halting contract renewal negotiations with the league.
The furore started when Morey posted a tweet on Friday featuring the message ‘Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong’ in reference to the four-month old protest movement that has upturned the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
The post was later deleted and 47-year-old Morey, the NBA’s executive of the year in 2018, said his views did not represent the team or league.
‘I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China,’ Morey tweeted.
‘I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives.’
‘I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors have provided and I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention.’
The post drew rebuke from the Chinese Basketball Association, which is headed by former Rockets star center Yao Ming, who said it would suspend cooperation with the Rockets.
The Chinese league said on Sunday via its official social media that it ‘strongly disagrees’ with Morey’s ‘improper remarks’ regarding Hong Kong.
In a separate statement, the NBA said: ‘We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable.’
‘We have great respect for the history and culture of China and hope that sports and the NBA can be used as a unifying force to bridge cultural divides and bring people together.’
That response sparked fierce criticism from U.S. lawmakers.