BEIJING — NBA basketball returned to Chinese
state broadcaster CCTV for the first time in nearly 18 months on Wednesday,
after China blacklisted it following a team official’s support for Hong Kong’s
pro-democracy movement.
اضافة اعلان
National broadcaster CCTV streamed the Los Angeles
Clippers’ 121–115 victory over the Utah Jazz, to a mixed reception from Chinese
basketball fans.
China, the NBA’s largest overseas market by far,
suspended broadcasts on CCTV after the Houston Rockets’ then-general manager
Daryl Morey tweeted in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters in 2019.
Since then, CCTV has frozen out the league, but
viewers have been able to watch games on online streaming platforms and CCTV
aired Game 5 of the NBA Finals in October 2020.
A CCTV spokesperson at that time called the decision
a “normal broadcast arrangement” and noted the NBA’s “continued expressions of
goodwill” towards China.
CCTV did not give a reason for Wednesday’s broadcast
and did not respond to AFP requests for comment.
However, US media reported that Clippers coach
Tyronn Lue has recently been in a running war of words with Morey, who is now
working for the Philadelphia 76ers. “Last time he tweeted, he cost the NBA a
billion dollars. So I don’t think he should be doing too much tweeting,” Lue
reportedly said this week after a Morey tweet about Lue’s team.
The return of the NBA to Chinese screens sparked a
mixed reaction from the country’s social media users, with some slamming what
they saw as CCTV’s failure to stick to its guns.
“Who’s to blame for Chinese people’s lack of
backbone?” read one post on the Twitter-like Weibo social media platform. “How
will foreigners view us if our official media do this sort of thing?”
But others were just glad to see the games back on
their screens.
“I love my country, but that doesn’t stop me from
also loving the NBA,” one commenter posted.
As pro-democracy protests roiled the financial hub
of Hong Kong in October 2019, Morey tweeted an image bearing a slogan used by
demonstrators urging the world to “Stand with Hong Kong”.
He later deleted the tweet and apologized, but
Chinese business partners and celebrities to cut ties with the league after NBA
executives defended Morey’s right to freedom of expression.
The NBA has worked to mend fences since then, even as player
Enes Kanter Freedom recently risked reigniting tensions with strong criticism
of China.
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