Ted Cruz, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Demand NBA to Suspend China Activities Over Boycott

Washington (AFP) – A bipartisan set of US lawmakers urged the NBA on Wednesday to suspend all activities in China until Chinese firms and broadcasters end their boycott of the league and the Houston Rockets.

The open letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver came from eight US lawmakers as politically diverse as Ted Cruz of Texas and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York, both from states with multiple NBA teams.

“You have more power to take a stand than most of the Chinese government’s targets and should have the courage and integrity to use it,” the letter said.

“It’s not unreasonable to expect American companies to put our fundamental democratic rights ahead of profit.”

The letter comes in the wake of a since-deleted tweet from Rockets general manager Daryl Morey supporting Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters.

That prompted the Chinese government to end sponsorships for the team and league and drop planned NBA telecasts in China, huge NBA logos and banner being stripped off buildings a sign of the anger.

Swalwell slammed by Border Patrol commander over imagery showing ICE raiding Jesus Christ’s manger

Netanyahu says Trump to become first non-Israeli to receive Israel Prize

Home Owned by NASCAR Star Denny Hamlin Destroyed in Deadly Blaze

Look for Times Square Crystal Ball To Do Something Different This Year As USA’s 250th Birthday Approaches

Illegal immigrants allegedly ran multi-million-dollar gift card fraud scheme hitting stores daily across Texas

Trump rebukes Ukraine after Putin says his home was attacked

Gen. Flynn Sends Blistering Request to Trump: ‘We The People Demand Accountability!’

Jan. 6 pipe bomb suspect fights DOJ delay in turning over evidence

Trump Admin Stands Firm After Jesus-Centric Christmas Messages Spark Media Freak-Out

Trump tears up Obama-era Latin American policy with renewal of Monroe Doctrine

Tennessee officers rescue woman considering jumping from bridge on day after Christmas

Ilhan Omar disclosures show husband’s companies surged in value as Minnesota reels from $9B fraud

Top Female Tennis Player Takes on No. 671 Man in ‘Battle of the Sexes’ – It Wasn’t Even Close

‘America first’: Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray launches House bid

Trump Signals Military Hit First Target Inside Venezuela After Finding Drug Facility: ‘We Knocked That Out’

After early NBA statements were seen as overly capitulating, Silver said, “I understand there are consequences from … his freedom of speech. We will have to live with those consequences. As a league, we’re not willing to compromise those values.”

The full cost might not be known for months, with the NBA having made lucrative deals to a nation of 1.4 billion that loves basketball. But the lawmakers demanded values win over profits.

“Equivocating when profits are at stake is a betrayal of fundamental American values,” the lawmakers wrote. “That you have more potential fans in China than in Hong Kong is no excuse for bending over backwards to express ‘sensitivity’ only to one side.”

Lawmakers urged Silver to take four steps to harden the NBA’s stance against China’s retaliatory moves, most notably shutting down NBA activities in China, where two pre-season exhibition games were slated to be played.

“The NBA should have anticipated the challenges of doing business in a country run by a repressive single party government, including by being prepared to stand in strong defense of the freedom of expression of its employees, players, and affiliates across the globe,” the lawmakers wrote.

They also pushed for an end to punishments to the Rockets, saying the NBA must be united against “future efforts by Chinese government-controlled entities to single out individual teams, players, or associates for boycotts or selective treatment.”