LogFAQs > #928836432

redrocket posted...

v_charon posted...

I personally will continue watching the NBA unless like the league takes some official stance they force on everyone, which is of course not going to happen.

What. The league is literally already doing this. Not openly, but behind closed doors they absolutely have. The commissioner paid lip service to the idea of free speech, but he absolutely has told everyone to either make statements in support of China or stfu. This is obvious.

Yeah Im gonna call BS on this. Terry Stotts literally came out last night in support of free speech in comments to a reporter. I think players and coaches have opted to stay silent for their own sake.

Leaving LeBron out of it for now and just discussing other figures (Curry, Kerr, Popovich) who have opted not to comment first:

This statement is going to sound very obvious but...It is not the responsibility of individual NBA players or staff to solve an international political situation. There should be no expectation for them to make any comment at all, and its not cowardly to do that. You have to pick and choose the battles you want to fight on social issues.

As for LeBron, what he said was stupid and selfish; but i find it just as ridiculous to quit watching the entire product of the NBA over the statement of one player, and the tacit assumption that other players are in full agreement. Its like people who quit watching the NFL over Kaepernicks protest. Why is it necessary for you to agree morally with a political stand taken by a player to watch the overall product of the league? Why not just hate LeBron and cheer for a different team?

Outrage about the first statement aside, the NBA stood its ground - Morey was never punished, and the CCP has already rolled back their threat to stop airing NBA preseason games (likely due to insanely high demand in China). If anything, this proves that the demand for the NBAs product in China actually could outweigh nationalistic propaganda.