In early October, Rocket’s General Manager Daryl Morey ignited controversy with a tweet supporting Hong Kong protestors. For those unfamiliar, protests have been occurring in Hong Kong for the past four months. They’re violent. There have been over 2,000 injuries and at least 10 deaths. And, because of the tweet, the NBA is now at the center of it all.
It’s nothing out of the ordinary for Morey to tweet his support. Former and active players, coaches, and teams have used their platform for social activism in the past. In college, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar declined an invitation to the 1968 Olympics over racial tensions in America. Most recently, players like Chris Paul and Dwayne Wade have publicly condemned the police shootings of people of color. After winning the 2017 championship, the Golden State Warriors skipped the White House meeting and met with the former president, Barack Obama. The NBA has a history of players voicing their opinions. It’s part of the game’s culture.
WHAT THE NBA STANDS TO LOSE
This time it’s different – primarily because the league stands to lose a $4 billion market.
The NBA has spent the better part of the last three decades developing their brand in foreign markets. It’s the most popular sports league in China and worth an estimated $4 billion. The NBA has established a base of nearly 500 million fans in China – more than a third of the Chinese population. You’d be hard pressed to find more fans of any other sport in China.
The Chinese are putting pressure on the NBA to reprimand Morey, which puts the NBA in a difficult position. In the U.S., the league is criticized for not defending his freedom of speech and denouncing the Chinese government’s repressive treatment of the Hong Kong protestors. If they publicly support the protestors, they risk losing a $4 billion market. All Chinese sponsors have suspended ties with the league and the government is blacking out games. It’s clear they want a full apology.
THE CENTER OF THE NBA HONG KONG CONTROVERSY
We’d expect the league, teams, coaches and players to be vocal. What we’re hearing is the SOS. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver asked the league to hold their opinions, making it clear the NBA’s plan is for the firestorm to extinguish itself. Previously, Silver has recognized the social responsibility the players have and went on record saying, “my job is to protect NBA players’ free speech.” Fans and commentators see the silence as a nod of acceptance to the ongoing humanitarian crisis and an abandonment of morals for the almighty dollar.
WHAT CAN A COMPANY DO?
From a business perspective, the answer is business. You do whatever it takes to secure your largest market and half of your annual revenue. While there is an argument that the league could do a better job of that, the officials have made it clear that silence is their preferred method. There isn’t a clear path the NBA can take that allows them to support the fundamentals of the first amendment and continue to cash-in on the Chinese market. They’ll have to choose one, and either way they lose.