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TENSE RELATIONS. James Harden and the Rockets remain blacklisted by the Chinese media after the team’s general manager posted a controversial tweet. NBA photo
SHANGHAI, China – The Chinese national appointed to lead the NBA in China faces an uphill battle to restore his image and profits after last year’s pro-democracy dispute, basketball fans and state media said Wednesday.
The NBA named Michael Ma on Tuesday as chief executive of China, tasked with repairing relations after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of Hong Kong protesters last October.
The tweet angered the Chinese government and basketball fans, caused the state-owned CCTV network to stop showing games and endangered the NBA’s most valuable market outside of the United States.
Ma, who takes over from American Derek Chang, previously worked for the NBA and played a key role in building his brand in China. He takes office on June 1.
But posts on the leading sports website Hupu said that only Morey’s firing would attract Chinese fans.
“The smart thing to do would be to fire Morey and have the NBA officially apologize, otherwise nothing changes,” one publication said.
“It’s not that the NBA doesn’t understand this, they just won’t,” added another.
The nationalist newspaper Global Times published a report Tuesday night with the headline: “Naming the native Chinese as the head of NBA China ‘is not enough’ to regain the mainland market.”
The current NBA season is suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The league had said in April that Chang, named in 2018, was spending more time with his family, not to mention the China dispute.
The league said Ma “will be responsible for further improving the popularity of basketball and the NBA in China.”
Underlining the task at hand, CCTV said Monday that there was no prospect of easing its blackout at NBA games.
At the height of the row, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver insisted that the league would not gag its staff or apologize for Morey’s tweet, saying it supported the right of NBA players and employees to speak. freely in line with American values.
The reaction has thrown a cloud over the NBA’s huge broadcast, marketing, and sponsorship interests in China.
Silver said in February that the league expected to lose “several hundred million dollars” due to the dispute. – Rappler.com
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