China's fight with the NBA, explained
It all started with a single tweet. To learn more, listen to this episode of Today Explained, a daily podcast from Vox: art19.com/shows/today-explained/episodes/19d61e8b-55f6-4f57-a1be-49f8f5bb7828 Also, make sure to read our coverage on Vox.com: www.vox.com/2019/10/7/20902700/daryl-morey-tweet-china-nba-hong-kong www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/15/20915339/lebron-james-hong-kong-quotes-daryl-morey www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/10/11/20910039/american-brands-hong-kong-china-conflict Help us make more ambitious videos by joining the Vox Video Lab. It brings you closer to our work and gets you exclusive perks, like livestream Q&As with all the Vox creators, a badge that levels up over time, and video extras bringing you closer to our work! Learn more at bit.ly/video-lab In October 2019, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a tweet supporting pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. In reaction, the Chinese government censored NBA broadcasts in China, and Chinese companies suspended business deals with the world's premiere basketball league. As the controversy spun out of control, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Houston Rockets star James Harden, and NBA All-Star LeBron James were all asked for their opinion on the growing crisis. In this video, we dive deep into the relevant history that led to this critical moment. For decades, the NBA has been pushing a business strategy to attract fans in China, where basketball is more popular than in the United States. At the same time, the government of the United States has been pursuing a trade policy with China intended to generate profit for American businesses while simultaneously exposing Chinese consumers and businesses to ideas of democracy and free speech through the transactional dynamics of globalization. Originally, the hope of US leaders like President Bill Clinton was that this trade would lead to the democratization of China. What China's fight with the NBA shows is that the opposite seems to be occurring. Sources: Foreign investment data www.economist.com/china/2018/05/24/a-threatened-trade-war-between-china-and-america-may-be-on-hold Chinese disposable income www.unicef.cn/en/figure-23-capita-disposable-income-urban-rural-19902017 Chinese basketball history www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/02/from-mao-zedong-to-jeremy-lin-why-basketball-is-chinas-biggest-sport/253427/ 2002-2003 NBA viewership data www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/04/05/hall-of-famer-yao-ming-redefined-chinaman-for-the-nba-and-brought-the-game-to-hundreds-of-millions/ www.nytimes.com/2005/06/21/sports/basketball/what-if-they-held-an-nba-finals-and-no-one-bothered-to.html Tencent data news.cgtn.com/news/2019-07-29/Tencent-NBA-extend-partnership-for-five-more-years-in-1-5-bln-deal-IJ0UB34uxq/index.html Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out www.vox.com. Watch our full video catalog: goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Facebook: goo.gl/U2g06o Or Twitter: goo.gl/XFrZ5H
