'The values of the NBA, these American values, we are an American business, travel with us wherever we go, and one of those values is free expression,' Silver tells Robin Roberts.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league has suffered"substantial" losses in China as a result of the firestorm that followed a since-deleted tweet by the Houston Rockets general manager supporting the Hong Kong protests.
Silver maintained, however, that the league is"not only willing" but"we are" taking these financial losses in China to stand for"American values" such as freedom of expression -- and that they did not bow to Chinese pressure to fire the manager. While the tweet was quickly deleted, China's state-run broadcasting network ordered a blackout of NBA coverage. China's internet giant Tencent, which inked a five-year, $1.5 billion deal in August to stream NBA games, also announced that they would not play Rockets games.
After his comments were met with criticism, James later tweeted:"Let me clear up the confusion. I do not believe there was any consideration for the consequences and ramifications of the tweet. I’m not discussing the substance. Others can talk about that.” The financial fallout has also been swift and dramatic, but Silver said Thursday that the NBA is willingly taking those losses."We were being asked to fire him by the Chinese government, by parties we dealt within government and business," Silver said."We said there is no chance that’s happening; there’s no chance we’ll even discipline him."
"At some point, look to the American government, we are in the middle of negotiating a trade agreement," he added."Many multinational corporations obviously trade extensively with China."
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