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Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Ten., He pressed on Tuesday to the NBA Executive Bill Koenig on the league ties with China, a very discussed topic for some time.
Representatives of most professional sports leagues were in Capitol on Tuesday to discuss the rights of the media, transmission and transmission of services throughout the industry.
During the audience, Blackburn raised some questions to Koenig, president of the Global Content and Media distribution of the NBA, specifically on how the League has dealt with China in recent years.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Ten., He arrives at a business meeting of the Senate Judicial Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office building on February 13, 2025 in Washington, DC (Anna MoneyMaker/Getty images)
Blackburn began with some history of the situation.
“Over the years, I have seen the NBA relationship with oppressive regimes worldwide,” said Blackburn. “And, of course, everyone has had a fairly cozy relationship with the PCCH, and we know how they censor.
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“Returning to 2019, with Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of the fighters for the freedom of Hong Kong, and that resulted in the suspension [of] The NBA transmitted in its state media channels. In recent years, it seems that everyone has repaired that relationship, which means that there had to be some kind of treatment that was there and must have been a great treatment. “
Morey, who was the general manager of the Houston Rockets at that time, dismissed a tweet that said: “Fight for freedom. Put on Hong Kong”, in October 2019. That tweet supported the prodemocratic protests that occur in the communist state.
China replied announcing the NBA preseason games that were expected to be played in Shanghai at that time would not be televised. Then, he extended that suspension for almost a full year before putting the NBA back on his state television during the NBA 2020 finals.
After suggesting that the NBA and China had to reach an agreement to re -run their relationship, Blackburn pressed Koenig for the details.
“So, since we are talking about the rights of transmission and what they are worth, why don’t you tell me the transmission rights in China and how much of the NBA owners in China have invested?” He said.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Ten., Asks Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the budget application proposed by President Joe Biden for fiscal year 2024 on Thursday, March 16, 2023 in Capitol Hill in Washington. (Photo AP/Jacquelyn Martin, Archive)
“The NBA has a long distribution history of our games and content in China for more than 30 years,” Koenig replied, but that was not enough for Blackburn.
“I am not asking about the time that has been in China. I am asking what is the value of the rights of the media? Are you the president of global content and media distribution. So what are those rights worth and how much have the owners of the NBA invested in China?”
Koenig replied: “The NBA does not publicly comment on the financial terms of our relationship: we or abroad. But I can comment that it is necessary that, in the light of the tweet that Daryl Morey did in 2019 …”
“You had to reduce a deal,” Blackburn replied, but Koenig said the League no.
“Estimates are that these media rights are worth hundreds of millions of dollars for all, and that NBA team owners have invested up to $ 10 billion [in China]. I think some clarity in those numbers would be important, “Blackburn added.
The NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, speaks at a press conference before a game of NBA season tournament between the Los Angeles and Indiana Pacers Lakers at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 9, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu through Getty Images)
“The other thing we observe is human rights and we observe how the NBA has punished players who have spoken against human rights abusers in China. Enes Kanter Freedom, one specifically. So, can it commit to each agreement in each agreement that the NBA makes around the globe that the league is defending human rights, and that the league is defending the freedom of speech of freedom? “
Koenig responded by saying “one of the most important values of the NBA is freedom of expression.”
“In fact, the example he cited before: Daryl Morey. He was not disciplined or censored in any way to the light of the comments he made,” Koenig added. “You are right. That comment may have led to the lack of coverage by CCTV and other things. But, no, we value freedom of expression, and that is something that I can confirm.”
Since the NBA repaired its relationship with China, Commissioner Adam Silver has declared that the League will seek to play the games there again.
“I think we will bring back games to China at some point,” he said in October. “The Government of China took us out of the air for a period of time. We accepted that. We stay with our values … Any of our league has the right to talk about political matters.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Ten., Asks Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the election of President Donald Trump to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as testifies to the Senate Finance Committee of January 29, 2025. (Photo AP/José Luis Magana)
Silver also said in 2020 that the NBA experienced “dramatic” financial losses because corporate sponsors flee, among other factors, after their relationship with China lightened.
In 2022, an ESPN investigation found that the owners of the NBA had invested $ 10 billion combined in China, which included an owner whose company had a joint business with an entity sanctioned by the United States government.
