Thecontroversy over the National Basketball Associationand China intensified Monday in part because of the financial factor involved, according to Jesse Watters.
The NBA – which apologized after the Chinese government was irked by Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey expressed support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong – is not an advocacy organization, Watters said Monday on “The Five. “
” I’m not surprised the NBA is not the United Nations – let’s be honest, this is a sports league, this is not a human rights advocacy group, “he said.
” This is all about money, obviously, and they’re no different than any other American company. Except, I actually have less expectation from the NBA than I have for a company like Google, who rewires their entire search engine for the Chinese Communists just so they can make a billion dollars more. “
LAWMAKERS DUNK ON NBA FOR ‘SHAMEFULLY RETREATING’ AFTER RO CKETS GM’S CHINA CRITICISM
However, Watters said some of the criticism the NBA has received borders on being a little too
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“They’re now just caught in the middle of a political debate which they don’t really belong in,” he said.
Morey’s tweet, which read, “Fight for freedom, stand withHong Kong, “prompted multiple Chinese businesses and organizations – including the sportswear brand Li-Ning, SPD Bank and the Chinese Basketball Association – to condemn the team and suspend their work with the franchise. The Chinese consulate in Houston also scolded the Rockets, saying: “We have lodged representations and expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Houston Rockets … Anybody with conscience would support the efforts made by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard Hong Kong’s social stability. “
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But American lawmakers, including from the team’s home state of Texas, accused the Rockets and the NBA of appeasing a repressive Chinese government out of concern for their financial interests. The NBA is investing heavily in China, a market with 1.4 billion potential fans and a deep connection to Houston.
In addition,MissouriSen. Josh Hawley has called onthe NBAto cancel its high-profile preseason games in China amid growing controversy over a team official’s pro-Hong Kong statement.
Hawley, a Republican, sent a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Monday, accusing the league of “kowtowing to the demands of one of the world most brutal regimes in the pursuit of profit. ”
Fox News Tyler Olson and Liam Quinn contributed to this report.
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