The NBA has become an obnoxious promoter of “wokeness.”
Superstar LeBron James has been one of the worst woke champions as the face of the league.
But a former NBA player put James to shame with one statement.
Professional sports leagues have made the regrettable decision to get absurdly “woke” over the past few years.
It began when former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled for the national anthem, and it has only accelerated since then.
LeBron James has been one of the biggest proponents of cramming progressive messaging down the throats of viewers, much to the dismay of the league; ratings have steadily declined.
However, James and other NBA bigwigs have been conspicuously silent on human rights abuses in China.
But former NBA forward Royce White (the 12th overall pick in the 2012 draft) spoke out about China’s abuse of the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province.
White participated in a game for the Big 3 three-on-three semi-pro league for retired players, and spoke out against China during an interview.
Former @NBA player @Highway_30 condemns China for locking up Uyghur Muslims in concentration camps. pic.twitter.com/u3lycGHMma
— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) July 12, 2021
White also echoed the message on his Twitter and Instagram pages:
“When you know a moment like this should be going viral but instead you get crickets from media outlets… that’s when you know you’re doing it the right way. When it doesn’t suit anybody to talk about justice and freedom, that’s when you should talk about it. #FreeTheUyghurs.”
China is a serious geopolitical threat, but entertainment celebrities are largely mum on China’s abhorrent behavior.
Former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey nearly got fired for tweeting benign support for pro-freedom protesters in Hong Kong.
James went so far as to rebuke Morey publicly and say he wasn’t “educated” on the issue.
The NBA also issued an apology to China for Morey’s “indiscretion.”
Champion coaches Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr, both staunch critics of America, had almost nothing to say about China.
Kerr deflected criticisms of China by trying to argue that America had a gun violence problem.
ESPN ran a story about abusive behavior at a basketball academy in China, and the story quickly went away.
The NBA, like other global institutions, gets fat off the Chinese market of 1.4 billion citizens.
They don’t want to lose access to the market, so they make all kinds of moral and financial compromises.
Few are willing to stand up, so hopefully Royce White will give other players, coaches, and executives a dose of courage.