Ray Bolger played the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, and most of the movie depicts him searching for a brain.  He must have come back to life as Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA (No Brains Association). Little known Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey sent a tweet from his personal account stating, “Fight For Freedom, Stand With Hong Kong” in reference to the pro-democracy protests.  Apparently Mr. Morey didn’t check with China for approval because the immediate reaction was similar to the crackdown of the protestors: swift and harsh.

 The Chinese government said that its fans were deeply offended. It’s probably more accurate to say that the Chinese government doesn’t want any dissent or support for Hong Kong autonomy.  Almost immediately, Chinese companies starting cancelling TV broadcasts, shoe contracts, marketing campaigns and other activities with the Rockets and the NBA in general. The NBA commissioner quickly apologized and called the remarks “regrettable”.  To date, Mr. Silver has promised not to fire Mr. Morey over the tweet, even though China has pressured him to do so. Rockets player James Harden said, “We apologize. You know, we love China.” There are 1.5 billion people in China, so lots of money is at stake.  So we know why they are apologizing, but what exactly are they apologizing for? For someone supporting democracy? Have our corporations and sports institutions sold out America? It is sickening to watch them bend over and lick the boots of China in complete compliance.

Not only are their actions and apologies un-American, the NBA is the epitome of hypocrisy.  The NBA demonstrated that it only values the almighty dollar. But, they have no problems lecturing Americans on what to do.  Last year, Mr. Silver stated that NBA players have “an obligation, social responsibility, a desire to speak up directly about issues that are important.”  The NBA is known for being outspoken and progressive (or “woke” in today’s language). But are they true to those values or hypocritical? Let’s explore:

1-In 2016, the NBA threatened to pull the All-Star game out of North Carolina because it disagreed with a “bathroom bill” that required people use the public restroom of their gender assigned at birth.  Obviously LBGTQ issues are important to the NBA, but guess what country doesn’t have any gender confused bathrooms? Guess what country isn’t friendly to the LGBTQ community? If you guessed China, you’d be correct, yet the NBA practice economic punishment over political disagreements, ignoring the will of the people of North Carolina.  Think they will be lecturing China about bathroom laws? Think again.

2-Progressives tell the lie that the United States is an inherently racist country, dominated by white supremacy and intolerant of foreign cultures.  We heard this time and again about the mistreatment of Muslims after 9-11, which wasn’t true. Yet, where is the outcry about Muslims being held in internment camps.  Based upon rhetoric from Democrats, you’d think this practice was instituted by Donald Trump, who also threw in a few illegal aliens for good measure. But it wasn’t Mr. Trump; you’ll find these real concentration camps in China.  The silence about this human rights condition is deafening. Where are those NBA progressive values? They just shot an air-ball on that one.

3-Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors is a frequent Trump critic and refused a white house visit when his team won the championship in 2017.  The NBA has no problem with political statements, as long as it’s anti-Trump. And yet when Mr. Kerr was asked to comment on the government of China, does he stand up for free speech?  Of course not, he cites that the U.S. has problems too, and specifically notes that people can buy guns in the U.S. I guess he forgot about that old outdated document called the constitution.  By the way, what does that have to do with China? I guess it was hard for him to formulate a sentence about supporting democracy. That kind of political statement would be blasphemous to the NBA masters in China.  What would happen if a Chinese coach criticized President Xi Jinping. I don’t think you’d see much more of that coach. But does Mr. Kerr see his hypocrisy? I doubt it, as the NBA has told you: “We love China”.

4-Climate change is an important topic for liberals.  But guess who is the biggest polluter in the world? I’ll give you one guess.  China! Yet, the NBA and other liberals have little to say about putting pressure on China to literally clean up its act.  I thought Mother Earth was so important to them? I guess they are too busy banning plastic straws in America and replacing them with ones that can’t be recycled. 

5-Liberals used to see themselves as the champion of the little guy in America, the low wage earner.  The politically correct crowd of the NBA forgot about the working conditions of Chinese shoe factories.  Where is their call for better working conditions of Chinese factories making basketball shoes for Nike?   It is overshadowed by the China love fest. But a Betsy Ross inspired American flag shoe? That’s the real problem, say the liberals.

6-At a recent pre-season game, a few fans chanting “Free Hong Kong” and corresponding signs were kicked out of the arena for disrupting the enjoyment of the game.   I guess the NBA didn’t want their Chinese masters to be offended. Since when is yelling at a sports game no longer allowed? So much for the American value of free speech.  I wonder what would happen if the fans brought “Impeach Trump” signs? Steve Kerr would give them court-side seats. I can almost hear President Xi Jinping laughing at us.

7-Superstar and politically outspoken LeBron James commented on Mr. Morey’s tweet, saying.  “I believe he was either misinformed or not really educated on the situation.” This was after President Xi Jinping was quoted “Anyone attempting to split China in any part of the country will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones.”  Considering that the Hong Kong protestors burned his NBA jersey, I’d say it is Mr. James who is either misinformed or not really educated on the situation.

8-The one area that woke liberals of the NBA and China are in violent agreement about is abortion.  Chinese frequently abort the baby if it is female. Talk about a real war on women. 

I stopped caring about the NBA a long ago, but I’d wear a “Free Hong Kong” t-shirt to a Denver Nuggets game just so see what would happen.  I suspect the NBA knows exactly about the problems in China, they just don’t care. There is no moral cultural equivalence between America and China, yet the NBA finds it just too easy to scold Americans instead.  The NBA is another example of American corporations, politicians and institutions putting the interest of foreigners above American citizens. The more they bow to China, the easier our values will be eroded. It is no longer true that what’s good for American business is good for America.  Welcome to the global economy.