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.

POTUS Wants Answers: Kennedy Center Chaos as Ric Grenell Accused of Selling White House Access, $5.6 Million ‘Donation’ Allegedly Missing

Bombshell Claim: Comer Says Ilhan Omar’s Winery Sold Empty Barrels to Investors

Midwest pro-Trump state could hold key to Republicans’ midterm hopes

Trump puts fraudsters on notice with $25M whistleblower program offering cash for tips that deliver

Marine Le Pen vows to be the one to end ‘decades of anarchic immigration’ as France is torn apart by riots

Rogers argues El-Sayed is vulnerable with 2 traditionally Democratic blocs as Obama heads to Michigan

UNC settles Trump admin probes into alleged campus antisemitism, race-based admissions

Rogers warns Michigan voters against El-Sayed’s ‘extreme’ agenda ahead of election

Watch: Trump Calls Slotkin ‘Lowlife’ for Plan to Terrorize, Deter Future Conservatives With the Threat of Legal Punishment

Watch: Dem Sen So Radically Ignorant on Iran That CNN Has to Educate Him – So Bad, CNN Even Takes Trump’s Side

Rediscovered DHS Docs Suggest Ilhan Omar May Have Never Been US Citizen in First Place

JD Vance declines to endorse Netanyahu despite Trump’s strong backing

Judge walks back ‘untenable’ order against Trump DOJ after tense DC golf course hearing

Breaking: Feds Have DNA Evidence That Ilhan Omar Committed Voter Fraud, Married Her Brother – Source

‘Changes the balance of leverage’: Zelensky tries to hold on as Trump pressures him to concede

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.”