The NBA probably wants nothing more than for the whole mess with China about Daryl Morey’s pro-Hong Kong tweet to just go away. But thanks to how the league initially reacted, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Protesters have been showing up to preseason games, and the media can’t stop talking about it. It’s a cause people believe in.
Since the NBA seemed more concerned about angering China than anything else (at first), fans are not going to let it go. It will not matter how hard the NBA tries to silence protesters or keep them out of the spotlight.
They will find a way to be heard—N or by interrupting the dance-cam on opening night.
The Dance Cam
It’ something the Clippers like to do during games. The arena plays the song “Gangnam Style” while a cameraman shows little kids doing the dance on the Jumbotron—because who doesn’t like little kids doing silly dances on the Jumbotron, right?
This cameraman probably doesn’t anymore:
the best clip to start the NBA season is this kid baiting the broadcast into flashing a "Fight for freedom stand with Hong Kong" sign on TV and then the cameraman pans away pic.twitter.com/B30ubY63CX
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) October 23, 2019
The Story About The Hong Kong T-Shirt
Knowing that all eyes would be on Los Angeles for the season opener between the Lakers and Clippers Tuesday night, protesters made sure their presence would be felt. Before the game, several were out in front of the Staples Center handing out about 13,000 pro-Hong Kong t-shirts reading “Fight for freedom, Stand with Hong Kong.”
These T-shirts, approximately 13,000 of them, were printed and hauled out to downtown L.A. in a moving van and are currently being handed out on the streets surrounding Staples Center for free, hours before Lakers-Clippers tips off pic.twitter.com/snbGdd5zSG
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 23, 2019
A Lakers fan started a GoFundMe page to raise money to make the t-shirts. The opening paragraph on the fundraising page read:
China is trying to censor the Houston Rockets (update: and now the ENTIRE NBA) because of Hong Kong. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if on opening night in Staples Center the NBA fanbase made a collective demonstration against censorship by wearing “STAND WITH HONG KONG” T-Shirts?
While the initial goal was to raise $20,000, nearly $43,000 was raised.
Going to the actual @NBA Opening Night game @STAPLESCenter? Like for real, for real!?! Hit the link in bio to see how you can get your hands on one of these!
⚫️ or 🔶?
Drop us a DM if you want to pick one up 10/19 or 10/20!! #HKShirtGiveaway pic.twitter.com/2oNgmnXTgo
— HKShirt Giveaway (@hkshirtgiveaway) October 18, 2019
As could be expected, security at the Staples Center wasn’t too happy about it.
A security guard walked up to the pro-Hong Kong group handing out t-shirts outside of the Lakers/Clippers season opener and issued them a warning https://t.co/QbAl2AVoxx pic.twitter.com/shFfO0s8mJ
— L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) October 23, 2019
A similar giveaway took place in Canada at the Toronto Raptors home opener. A group of fans there raised over $34,000 through a GoFundMe page and made 7,000 t-shirts.
🇨🇦🏀 Toronto Raptors fans plan to stand with Hong Kong at NBA opening game. #HongKongProtests #AntiELAB #FreeHongKong https://t.co/6giplH6NaB pic.twitter.com/C1f8R2f94N
— Hong Kong World City☔️🖐🏻 (@HKWORLDCITY) October 14, 2019
Apparently, their cameraman was able to avoid little kids holding the t-shirt during the game.
Lost Opportunity
The NBA’s hierarchy is going to kick themselves someday over how they handled this whole sordid affair. It is not hard to understand why they would want to salvage the business relationship with China. So far, it appears to be disappearing anyway.
In the end, the league is going to lose a ton of money. But because of how they initially handled the mess, the league also lost the respect of millions of fans. Yes, Adam Silver did give Daryl Morey support after the fact, but it is what the league initially did that has stuck (and will be what people remember).
But had they, and stars like LeBron James, reacted by supporting and agreeing with Morey, they would have lost all the business they ended up losing. However, the league would have also gained millions of fans by placing more importance on human rights than money. In time, that legion of new fans would have translated into a whole lot of money.
Samburaj Das edited this article for CCN.com. If you see a breach of our Code of Ethics or find a factual, spelling, or grammar error, please contact us.
