Sen. Marsha Blackburn Sends Letter to NBA Questioning Relationship with China

Nick Kangadis | July 1, 2020
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Finally, someone is trying to get some answer from the National Basketball Association (NBA) concerning their relationship with the communist government of China. China has more to explain for than just their relationship with the NBA. But we might be able tot least get some answers with questions for American organizations who do major business with China.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to the NBA on Tuesday listing some of the atrocities China is currently committing, along with the NBA’s relationship with their government who controls everything in the country. Blackburn was complimentary of the safety measures the NBA put in place by suspending their season, but that’s where the compliments ended.

“Your league’s business interests are closely intertwined with Communist China’s estimated $4 billion NBA market,” Blackburn wrote in the letter. “While the NBA has worked hard to raise awareness of social issues at home, there is concern that the league has turned a blind eye to human rights abuses committed abroad — even bowing down to pressure last year.”

Blackburn went on to describe the NBA’s relationship with China, as well as listing the communist Chinese government’s human rights abuses.

The senator from Tennessee concluded her letter by asking three specific questions that she wants answers for from the league, as reported by Sports Illustrated who obtained a copy of the letter:

As the league reconvenes, further details on its relationship with China are imperative. Please provide a written response to the below inquiries by July 21, 2020.

  1. What are the anticipated financial consequences of China Central Television’s (CCTV) continued ban on the airing of NBA games?
  2. Please continue the scope of the NBA’s relationship with Chinese state-owned enterprise Alibaba.
  3. The NBA reportedly continues to operate a training center Xinjiang, one of the world’s worst humanitarian zones. What steps is the NBA taking to shutter this location?

Blackburn referenced Xinjiang, where Uyghur Muslims and “ethnic Kazakhs” are detained in what essentially amounts to concentration camps for “free hospital treatment for the masses with sick thinking.”

Why don’t they just have the guts to say that these “hospitals” are really re-education camps? Because communists can never admit any wrongdoing or negative action. That’s why.

There’s nothing wrong with any of the queries Blackburn posted in the letter. She’s not threatening action against the NBA. Blackburn is merely asking for the NBA’s perspective on the relationship they have with China.

If the NBA is doing nothing wrong, then they shouldn’t be afraid to answer the senator’s questions.

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