NBA's deference to China in the wake of controversy shows how money trumps freedom of speech
The president, like NBA owners and China's leaders, has his eye on the bottom line. With the world's largest population and one of its biggest economies, China will not be ignored, especially by the NBA, which says that country's professional basketball fans number about twice the U.S. population. The NBA also has a $15 billion deal with a Chinese livestreaming company.
A big dent was put in that revenue stream when Chinese businesses and government retaliated against the objectionable tweet by canceling events, tearing down posters and declining to air the big exhibition game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets on CCTV, the Chinese national television network.
Money talks. But what I find even more troubling is the apparent erosion of resistance to China's efforts to force Americans to censor themselves.
Deadspin published a memo from a senior ESPN news executive telling anchors to avoid political discussions about China and Hong Kong, and instead focus on the related basketball issues. CNN reporter Christina Macfarlane was interrupted by a Rockets media official when she asked Rockets stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook in a news conference whether the recent events had changed their thoughts about speaking freely on political issues. Macfarlane herself was quickly shut down for asking a question that was insufficiently related to basketball. She later received an apology.
The sad truth of all this fuss, ethically speaking, is that Morey was right and the Chinese government was wrong. The demonstrators in Hong Kong deserve the right to free speech and were promised more democracy when the city was handed over by the British than Beijing has been willing to grant.
There was a time when we in the free world hoped that a taste of free market capitalism would bring enough rewards to all Chinese people and that they would crave more freedoms. Instead, China is now so economically huge -- and growing -- that its leaders have been content to bully their way around the block, and the globe.
The result for the past 40 years has been a mixture of free market capitalism and authoritarian governance that displays the worst lessons of capitalism. Essentially, everybody has their price, so take the profits and shut up about your political leadership.
That's a pretty persuasive message. All it requires is an absence of moral courage.
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(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.)
(c) 2019 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
