In response to the proposed re-airing of NBA games on the Chinese Communist Party‘s CCTV from March 8 this year, after more than a year of suspension, U.S. senators wrote to NBA president Adam Silver, condemning the group’s self-serving behavior and asking him to answer three questions within a Time limit because “Congress must learn more about the NBA’s relationship with China (the Chinese Communist Party). “.
Sports Illustrated reported on March 4 that Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn wrote a two-page letter to Xiao asking him why the NBA was “cooperating” with the Chinese Communist Party’s official media at a time when there were questions about the Communist Party’s cover-up of the outbreak and an international investigation into the source of COVID-19 (the Chinese Communist virus). “.
Sports Illustrated obtained a copy of Blackburn’s letter. In the letter, Blackburn wrote that the NBA ignored the facts that the CCP stockpiled medical protective equipment, forced doctors to mute their voices and lied about the risk of human-to-human transmission of the virus while the Epidemic was raging, but chose to make a deal with CCTV as a round of “self-serving operations.
“While the investigation into the origins of COVID-19 continues in Wuhan, the NBA seems to be focused on rekindling its relationship with CCTV,” she wrote. She wrote.
In her letter, Blackburn posed three questions for Shaw to respond to by March 30, which were.
(1) The details of the new contract the NBA signed with CCTV. (1) Details of the new contract between the NBA and CCTV and what the NBA has committed to “must comply” with as part of the contract negotiations when it comes to sensitive topics such as Hong Kong and Xinjiang in particular.
(2) The financial impact of CCTV’s ban on broadcasting NBA games.
(3) the role in the new contract of Chinese CEO Michael Ma, whose father is a senior official at the Communist Party’s Central Television (CCTV).
Blackburn condemns NBA for releasing so-called “goodwill” to CCP
In 2019, former NBA Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sparked an uproar when he spoke out in support of Hong Kong’s “anti-China sending”. The Chinese Communist Party’s CCTV sports channel then issued a statement immediately suspending the NBA’s preseason (China) broadcast schedule. The NBA has since disappeared from the CCTV sports channel.
Although Xiao Hua expressed support for Murray’s right to free speech, Murray later resigned as general manager. In this regard, CCTV claimed that “any attempt to hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will have to pay the price”.
On October 9, 2020, CCTV announced that it would resume broadcasting the NBA, but only broadcast Game 5 of the Finals on the morning of October 10. The Global Times, an official media outlet of the Chinese Communist Party, reported that CCTV will resume broadcasting NBA games from March 8 this year, with the first live broadcast being the 2021 All-Star Game.
The media reported that during the suspension period, Xiao Hua made multiple attempts to seek a rapprochement between the two sides. CCTV said last year that the NBA had released “goodwill” when talking about the resumption of NBA broadcasts. The NBA reportedly provided China with $1 million worth of aid and medical equipment.
Last May, Xiaohua also announced the appointment of Michael Ma Xiaofei as chief executive officer (CEO) of NBA China, the appointment took effect on June 1, 2020. It is worth mentioning that Ma Xiaofei is the son of senior CCTV official Ma Guoli, who has served as director of CCTV Sports Center, chairman of Ying Fang China and vice chairman of LeSports.
“Is it safe to say that the ‘goodwill’ included a million dollars in medical supplies given to the CCP by the NBA?” In his letter, Blackburn wrote, “China dominates the global production of personal protective equipment (PPE), so this assistance from the NBA is deeply troubling, especially after witnessing the CCP’s lack of transparency in the outbreak and the ongoing gross human rights violations.”
Blackburn’s letter also cited a number of findings in the U.S. media, such as CCP-controlled companies forcing Uyghurs to produce protective gear, and she cited disturbing practices such as the CCP’s persecution of democracy in Hong Kong.
She wrote, “As the All-Star Game approaches, it is imperative that the U.S. Congress learn more about the NBA’s relationship with China (the Chinese Communist Party).”
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