The NBA made a huge mistake by going political.
Now the league finds itself in a public relations nightmare.
And one NBA player said something about Michael Jordan that will leave you speechless.
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is going scorched earth.
Kanter called out the hypocrisy of LeBron James because of his penchant for attacking America while remaining silent on the human rights abuses of China.
James is Nike’s biggest brand ambassador that’s active in the NBA, so he won’t do anything to damage the corporation; Nike and the NBA are both heavily dependent on the Chinese market.
James even scolded former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey for showing benign support for pro-freedom protesters in Hong Kong against Mainland China.
But now Kanter is going after Nike’s biggest brand ambassador: Michael Jordan.
Kanter appeared on CNN and said:
“Not many people are talking about Michael Jordan…Michael Jordan hasn’t done anything, nothing, for the black community in America besides just, you know, giving them money. I feel like we need to call out these athletes. At least LeBron James is going out there and, you know, being the voice of all those people who are oppressed in America. But Michael Jordan has not done anything for the black community because he cares too much about his shoe sales all over the world and America, so I feel like we need to call out these athletes and not be scared of who they are.”
This has been a common criticism of Jordan; left-wing activists have always wanted him to be more vocal on their pet social causes.
However, Jordan was rumored to have said, “Republicans buy sneakers, too,” which helps explain why he was never deeply political.
There’s also the broader conversation of whether or not professional athletes who haven’t deeply studied geopolitical issues should be opining on such topics.
The one distinction between Jordan and James is that Jordan is not telling everyone America is horrible and irredeemably racist while shilling for the Chinese Communist Party; Jordan simply chooses to remain silent.
Nevertheless, Kanter is taking direct aim at Nike, and it’s going to be hard for them to ignore the salvos.
Nike promotes James and far-left revolutionary Colin Kaepernick in their rhetorical destruction of America.
Kaepernick’s recently released Netflix series chronicling his early life had the gall to compare the NFL draft combine to slave markets.
Meanwhile, China is engaging in slave labor, but Kaepernick has nothing to say about it.
Nike’s double standard exposes how many American brands have now become multinational corporations whose goals now serve a global interest instead of an American one.
Trashing America might be good for Nike’s business, but speaking forthrightly about China certainly is not.
The CCP has already banned Celtics games in China because of Kanter’s statements.
The NBA has to be gnashing its teeth as Kanter takes a sledgehammer to the league’s business model.