Vice President Mike Pence did not hold back with his criticisms of the NBA Thursday, saying that the organization is “acting like a wholly owned subsidiary” of China’s Community Party.
Pence’s comments come after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey shared his support for the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, which raised a red flag with China’s authoritarian leaders.
Pence didn’t support how the NBA handled Morey’s comments.
“Some of the NBA’s biggest players and owners, who routinely exercise their freedom to criticize this country, lose their voices when it comes to the freedom and rights of other peoples,” Pence said Thursday, according to CNN.
“In siding with the Chinese Communist Party and silencing free speech, the NBA is acting like a wholly owned subsidiary of the authoritarian regime,” the vice president said.
In his speech Thursday, Pence said Nike has taken steps to placate China by “checking its social conscience at the door.”
“Nike stores in China actually removed their Houston Rockets merchandise from their shelves to join the Chinese government in protest against the Rockets general manager’s seven-word tweet: ‘Fight for Freedom, stand with Hong Kong.’ ”
Pence’s comments came as he spoke at The Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. The Trump administration previously weighed in on the issue at the time of Morey’s tweet, according to CNBC.
Pence said he and the Trump administration “hope that economic engagement alone will transform Communist China’s authoritarian state into a free and open society that respects private property, the rule of law, and the international rules of commerce.”
Earlier this week, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal spoke on a pre-game show on TNT ahead the NBA’s opening night about the NBA-China spat, saying Morey was right, as reported by the Deseret News.
“As American people, we do a lot of business in China, and they know and understand our values, and we understand their values,” O’Neal said, according to CNN. “And one of our best values here in America is free speech. We’re allowed to say what we want to say, and we’re allowed to speak up about injustices, and that’s just how it goes. And if people don’t understand that, that’s something they have to deal with.”