Chinese investors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) have withdrawn their contributions after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey shared a tweet in October. The social media post manifested Morey's support for Hong Kong protestors that were frowned upon by the Chinese investors.
According to the Wall Street Journal, China was enraged by Morey's statements that resulted in an extraordinary stand-off between America's most famous sports league and the Chinese government.
It was then announced that Chinese sponsors for the Houston Rockets cut their contributions after the post and refrained from streaming NBA games in the country's national television this basketball season. The withdrawal was effected before two NBA teams were scheduled for pre-season exhibition matches in China.
According to NBA's Commissioner Adam Silver, the NBA would incur hundreds of millions of US dollars upon the withdrawal of its Chinese investors. He revealed in a press conference held during the All-Star Weekend in Chicago that the losses could possibly be less than 400 million USD.
Silver added that the said losses would be substantial to the basketball league. He also claimed that the NBA does not plan on running from the consequences of Morey's actions, but believed that there would be no permanent damage to the NBA's business in China.
He also expected that China's national broadcast station to resume NBA games' broadcasts. However, he did not reveal a specific time or duration when China would lift the viewership ban.
According to CNBC, the NBA has had tensions running with China for months and that financial losses still have yet to be felt. The report revealed that Morey opted for people in Hong Kong to fight for freedom and that the association would stand with them.
The said statement was also claimed to have backed by the NBA. The association was revealed to have supported Morey's right of speech in the United States despite the latter's apology. Since then, the Houston Rockets' general manager has kept a low profile.
Morey also deleted the tweet after Silver admitted that his post has resulted in substantial losses to the NBA. Last Saturday, Silver reiterated the issue and confirmed that it would also adversely affect salary cap projections for stakeholders in the NBA for next season.
Silver further announced that the NBA has 'slightly' lowered its 2020-2021 salary cap projection that was originally forecasted to generate 116 million USD. The reduction was said to be a reflection of its reduced revenues in China including normal variations in business projections.
