By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn sent a letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday asking multiple questions about the league’s relationship with China, according to Sports Illustrated.
Blackburn praised the NBA’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, then mentioned “concerns” about the NBA’s “dealings with a country governed by a Communist regime that has abused human rights, squashed pro-democracy protests and hidden details on the coronavirus outbreak”.
Blackburn’s letter brings back the controversy between the NBA and China, that started back in 2019 by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of a free Hong Kong, which caused a broad reaction in the NBA within players, team owners, as well as Silver himself.
The Senator’s letter ends with three questions for Silver to answer by July 21:
1. What are the anticipated financial consequences of China Central Television’s (CCTV) continued ban on the airing of NBA games?
2. Please outline the scope of the NBA’s relationship with Chinese state-owned enterprise Alibaba.
3. The NBA reportedly continues to operate a training center Xinjiang, one of the world’s worst humanitarian zones. What steps is the NBA taking to shutter this location?