NBA China crisis: why Adam Silver had little choice but to back Rockets’ GM Daryl Morey and infuriate Chinese government

Make a list. Write down all the multinationals doing billions of dollars of business in the mainland that have openly supported freedom of expression in Hong Kong and openly defied China. You won’t need much paper because right now the only name on that list is the NBA. When NBA commissioner Adam Silver finally addressed the media this week in Tokyo before the tip-off of the Japan NBA Games between the Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets, there was a gravitas and rare weariness to him. Nothing glib came from the man who has charmed the sporting and corporate world for the past five and a half years. Two months into his tenure as commissioner in 2014, a fresh-faced Silver imposed one of the most severe punishments ever on an owner when he banned the Los Angeles Clipper’s Donald Sterling for life from the NBA for racist comments recorded from a phone conversation. “The views of Mr Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful,” he said of his judgment. “Sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multicultural and multi-ethnic league.” By issuing such an unwavering edict, the template for political correctness was moulded. Silver continued to double down on that theme when he spoke with CNN in 2018 about how proud he was that social activism was in the NBA’s DNA and “was something that has been passed down over the decades”. He added: “We want NBA players to be multidimensional people and fully participate as citizens. I think in this day and age you really have to stand for something.” And yet none of that could have prepared Silver for the situation the NBA is now in, thanks to a simple yet seminal seven-word tweet from Houston Rockets general manager Darryl Morey on the eve of a series of NBA exhibitions in Asia: “Fight for freedom, Stand with Hong Kong.” Billions upon billions of dollar signs in the form of Chinese renminbi were flying out the door as he spoke. That is as real as it gets and the damage is already done From that moment on, the reaction was predictable. Beijing went ballistic while every NBA-related partner on the mainland quickly fell into lockstep as a cackling chorus of political hyenas in the US crossed partisan lines to denounce the NBA’s cowardice. Everyone instinctively knew their role in the farce, everyone except the NBA. “The long held values of the NBA are to support freedom of expression and Daryl Morey enjoyed that right as one of our employees,” said Silver. “I also understand that there are consequences from that exercise of his freedom speech. We will have to live with those consequences.” Silver is a polished orator but at that moment, he had an incredulous look that clearly said he could not believe those words were coming out of his mouth. Come they did in an unyielding defence of personal freedom that may someday parallel Evelyn Beatrice Hall’s much-quoted paraphrasing of Voltaire’s, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend your right to say it”. Of course, the NBA has long been at the forefront of the corporate cash orgy so there are layers of public cynicism still to melt. But billions upon billions of dollar signs in the form of Chinese yuan were flying out the door as he spoke. That is as real as it gets and the damage is already done. Why the invasion of ‘socially conscious’ NBA coaches and stars in China may not be cause for worry When pointedly asked if all those personal freedoms he spoke of extended to the 60 staff members in the NBA’s Hong Kong regional office, he unhesitatingly replied: “We will protect our employee’s freedom of speech.” While chastising Morey publicly for his tweet, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta added: “Everything is fine with Daryl and me. I have the best general manager in the league.” However, Morey was virtually invisible all week in Tokyo and nowhere to be seen at a lavish NBA reception or the two games. When asked if Morey was actually still in Japan, both Rockets and NBA officials said they did not know. While Morey may be hiding, his legacy is not. It was Morey who unwittingly forced the NBA to not just talk the talk, but to walk the walk as well. And now, with one single tweet, every politically correct and corporately sanctimonious US company from Apple to Nike and all profit points in between, has been exposed. Morey, greatly aided by the overarching paranoia of the Chinese Communist Party, forced this issue. It’s that simple, and it’s also that risky. If Beijing denies this basketball-mad country their fix of a historically popular team like the Rockets, featuring two of the game’s biggest stars in James Harden and Russell Westbrook, they might not be able to contain the fallout. You cannot simply knock off a clone of the NBA like a Louis Vuitton bag either. Now, more than ever, there really is only one.