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Chinese are quick to react when they don't like the way their country is portrayed. And the backlash is severe when it involves international sporting or film stars saying something, not to their liking.
Boston Celtics and the NBA are experiencing just that after broadcaster and NBA partner Tencent blocked the basketball team's games after one of its players, Enes Kanter, criticised Chinese President Xi Jinping and advocated Tibetan independence. Kanter also wore shoes emblazoned with the words "Free Tibet" during a game on Wednesday. (https://www.espn.in/nba/story/_/id/32445320/chinese-media-remove-boston-celtics-games-center-enes-kanter-free-tibet-statements)
Kanter's name has also been blocked from Chinese social media site Weibo, although China's foreign ministry has dismissed Kanter saying that he was "trying to get attention."
This is not for the first time that the NBA has run into trouble with China over its human rights record. For instance, in 2019, Houston general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of anti-China protests in Hong Kong, which resulted in the league being blacked out in China, one of the largest markets for the NBA globally. Many Chinese businesses also severed ties with the Rockets resulting in loss of millions. However, Morey backtracked from his comments. China has not forgotten or forgiven. Games involving the Philadelphia 76ers are also not streamed in China, as Morey is with the team. (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49956385)
NBA superstar LeBron James is very popular in China for criticising Morey. But James faced a lot of criticism from many people. (https://www.foxnews.com/sports/lebron-james-slammed-on-social-media-over-criticism-of-moreys-tweet)
The NBA negotiated with the Tancent and the games were restored, although the Chinese state television largely stopped beaming NBA games after 2019. On Weibo, China's short messaging platform, a Celtics fan page with approximately 600,000 followers has announced that it has stopped posting updates. (https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/21/sport/enes-kanter-tibet-china-xi-jinping-nba-spt-intl/index.html)
Meanwhile, Kanter has received praise from social media for his "courageous" stand on Tibet. (https://www.foxnews.com/media/boston-celtics-center-enes-kanter-praised-xi-jinping-brutal-dictator-china-tibet) How the NBA will deal with the latest problem will be watched closely as China is a vast market for the league.
Read more:
News report:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-22/boston-celtics-games-blocked-china-enes-kanter-tibet-xi-jinping/100559154
How China went about wiping Celtics from NBA broadcasts:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/10/21/nba-china-boston-celtics-enes-kanter/