The Brooklyn Nets play against the Los Angeles Lakers during the NBA China Games 2019 in Shenzhen. Credit: Color China Photo via AP
Basketball is back, with the NBA set to resume play in Orlando on Thursday. But the league’s largest overseas fanbase, in China, will have a tough time tuning in.
Following Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s October 2019 tweet in support of protests in Hong Kong, Chinese sponsors and the country's state broadcaster, CCTV, pulled their support for the league. Players, owners, and even Morey himself went into damage control immediately after, hoping to preserve one of the biggest cash cows for the Rockets — the former home of Chinese basketball star Yao Ming — and the league.
How is it that Chinese business interests came to hold such sway over a major U.S. sports league? This week we’re exploring the NBA’s Chinese subsidiary and the litany of business deals that have made it so valuable to the league.
The NBA has had a Chinese subsidiary for over a decade.
Basketball is big business in China, and it’s been growing steadily since the formation of NBA
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Brands have long relied on social auditing companies to monitor their supply chains in China. But between the industry’s own flaws and a changing political environment in China, many say these reports aren't reliable. With the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act now going into effect, this lack of trust in the industry leaves many global companies — and those hoping to hold them accountable — in a tricky spot.
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