Doesn’t it seem like the NBA has no idea what to do about this China situation? Commissioner Adam Silver kind of protected Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey following his infamous controversial pro-Democracy tweet. But he also semi-apologized to the Chinese government on behalf of the NBA in the next breath. It was bizarre.
You have to know it’s almost beyond speculations that league executives issued a behind-the-scenes memo to everybody associated with the league to not exacerbate the situation any further. But NBA fans couldn’t care less about this attempted censorship.
And Toronto Raptors fans are planning a wonderful pro-Hong Kong protest to defy the NBA and China.
You’d think this censorship controversy is exclusive to communist regimes. Riots have been erupting in Hong Kong for months by protestors fighting for pro-Democracy.
But we’ve seen over the last few weeks that this censorship has been spreading into the United States because, unfortunately, industries and companies make a lot of profit off the 1.3 billion people in China.
In the midst of the Houston Rockets general manager expressing support for the Hong Kong protestors in a tweet, China has already made aggressive moves like prohibiting the airing of NBA preseason games and even calling for the league to fire Morey.
The censoring on behalf of both the NBA and China is a direct violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees every American Freedom of Speech regardless of how the rest of the world feels.
Now NBA fans in the U.S. have been facing backlash against arenas and NBA teams since the controversy started. They’re having Pro-Hong Kong paraphernalia confiscated and some who chant this sentiment are even being thrown out of the arena. This is apparently the power China wields on some of these industries and corporations.
Here is one example in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
The moment Sam Wachs and his wife are escorted out of the @sixers preseason game against a Chinese basketball team for yelling “Free Hong Kong.” @6abc pic.twitter.com/3HlZxKXDzs
— Christie Ileto (@Christie_Ileto) October 9, 2019
Here’s another example at a Washington Wizards game in our nation’s capital.
Just had our “Free Hong Kong” sign confiscated at Capitol One Arena at the Wizards game against the Guangzhou Long Lions. #FreeHongKong #NBA #Censorship pic.twitter.com/on1O4QdBUi
— Jon Schweppe (@JonSchweppe) October 9, 2019
But Toronto Raptors fans plan to take the pro-Hong Kong protests to a whole new level, albeit, it’s in our ally neighbors to the North’s territory.
A group of fans in Canada have raised $34,192 in an effort to distribute approximately 7,000 pro-Hong Kong jerseys at the defending champions home opener on October 22nd, which would effectively clothe the entire stadium with these shirts.
You can find those shirts here:
🇨🇦🏀 Toronto Raptors fans plan to stand with Hong Kong at NBA opening game. #HongKongProtests #AntiELAB #FreeHongKong https://t.co/6giplH6NaB pic.twitter.com/C1f8R2f94N
— Hong Kong World City 🖐🏻😷☔️ (@HKWORLDCITY) October 14, 2019
This crowdsourcing campaign was created by Toronto HongKongers Action Group. The group’s leader, Mimi Lee, said, “Canada is actually another battleground to fight against China. We may have a new government by the time this NBA match happens. Showing the Canadian government how much we stand with Hong Kong will definitely set a tone on the China policy for the new administration.”
What kind of influence does the NBA have on the Canadian government? Will the Toronto Raptors attempt to ban fans from entering the arena with those shirts? This all remains to be seen and we’ll find out next week.
Things could get really interesting and only American Free Speech is at stake. You know, just that little old thing that we all value in America. https://offthewire.com/south-park-trolls-american-industries-who-give-in-to-china/
