Basketball is very popular in China, but in response to a few words delivered on social media, the two major Chinese internet marketplaces and several retailers in major Chinese cities have pulled all merchandise bearing the brands of the Houston Rockets or the NBA from their shelves. Nike took similar action, evidently out of fear of damaging its good relations with the Chinese government, which has been very critical of the ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong, probably waiting for the whole issue to blow over, but more recent action by the U.S. Congress in support of the protesters may keep the tension going for a while.
On Oct. 4, Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted an image that read “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.” The tweet was referring to protests that have been going on in the financial capital since March of this year. The point of contention is a proposed amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance that would allow Hong Kong to extradite wanted criminals to Taiwan and especially mainland China. The protesters fear that this would undermine Hong Kong's autonomy and enable China's rulers, the Chinese Communist Party, to apprehend and punish their political opponents.
Morey apologized for his tweet on Oct. 7, but the following day Adam Silver, commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), fanned the flames by defending Morey's right to free speech. A previously planned exhibition game of Oct. 10 in Shanghai between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets nevertheless went ahead as scheduled. However, protesters in Hong Kong reacted to Morey's apologetic attitude by burning LeBron James jerseys, as recent statements by James to the press have seemed to defend China's position.
This has prompted intense debate on social media over freedom of speech. Then just yesterday, Silver said during an appearance at the Time 100 Health Summit in New York City that China had told the NBA to fire Morey. “Obviously,” he said, “we made clear that we were being asked to fire him by the Chinese government, by the parties we dealt with, government and business. We said, ‘There's no chance that's happening. There's no chance we'll even discipline him.'” Today, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Geng Shuang, rebutted Silver, saying, “The Chinese government never posed this requirement.”
According to Reuters, Nike pulled all Rockets merchandise from five stores in Beijing and Shanghai and three stores in Chengdu. The company also pulled both Rockets and general NBA merchandise from three stores in Shenzhen. The Chinese e-commerce platforms Alibaba and JD.com removed Houston Rockets merchandise from their platforms. Speaking to the Chinese press, Alibaba said that Morey's tweet had hurt feelings in China and that negotiations were out of the question, while JD.com said that it resented and condemned the tweet.
Rockets merchandise vanished also from two NBA Playzone centers in Shanghai and Beijing. NBA Playzone is run by NBA China. A specialist NBA store at the Super Brand Mall shopping center in Shanghai has also removed all Rockets merchandise. Speaking to Reuters, a store manager there said, “If they say that all NBA stuff has to be withdrawn then our store will go bankrupt.”
Four sneaker traders told Reuters that two of the largest online resale marketplaces for sneakers in China had removed all shoes connected to the NBA, as had the shopping apps Poizon and DoNew. The British wire service quoted Zhu Junwen, a reseller in Guangzhou, as saying, “As long as the bosses of Nike and Adidas don't come out and say something stupid and get banned by China's central government, I think sneaker resales in China will remain pretty profitable. But if [they get banned], that would be the end of it.”
China provides the NBA with about $4 billion in business annually and is the league's fastest growing region for revenue growth. Adidas, for its part, has a standing, 13-year endorsement deal worth a reported $200 million with James Harden, a guard for the Houston Rockets.
For its part, Anta has endorsement deals with Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, Gordon Hayward of the Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo of the New Orleans Pelicans, among others. The Chinese sportswear brand became the official marketing and merchandising partner of NBA China in 2014. According to Reuters, it is responding to Morey's tweet by ending negotiations for contract renewals with the NBA. “We are as shocked and dissatisfied as Chinese NBA fans,” the company said. “Anta firmly opposes and resists all acts that harm the interests of the motherland.” Anta led the consortium that took over Amer Sports – owner of Salomon, Arc'teryx, Peak Performance, Atomic, Mavic, Suunto, Wilson and Precor – in April of this year.
