Brand worship is an anthem sports executives recite by heart. Heaven help those who transgress! But thank goodness for those who do. They keep brands from advancing unchecked.
Morley is in hot water (photo, NSPR)
It wasn’t a good weekend for Daryl Morley, General Manager, of the NBA’s Houston Rockets. On Twitter, Morley expressed support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
Morley’s public stance carried a price. The NBA has significant business interests in China–estimated to be worth about $4 billion in a market that has more NBA fans than the U.S. has people.
Morley’s tweet put the NBA in a bind. Say nothing, even support Morley, means the NBA would have to deal with China’s backlash. Express disdain for Morley’s sentiment and that might protect the league’s business interests in China–if the Chinese forgive and forget.
NBA’s initial response to Morley’s comments
In the tweet reprinted to the right, the NBA said nothing initially about free speech or the right to assemble and protest. Instead, the league focused on how Morley’s tweet offended “many of our friends and fans in China.” For their part, the Rockets offered a countervailing opinion when the team’s biggest star, James Hardin said, “We apologize. You know, we love China.”
Later, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver walked back the NBA’s initial stance. He framed the league’s challenge as the need to honor American norms as it does business around the world.
There’s nothing new about the conflict between doing what’s best for the brand vis-a-vis doing what’s right from a broader perspective.
In a few Twitter strokes, Daryl Morley laid bare what everybody knows to be true–you can’t criticize the Chinese government. China said as much. ‘Free speech,’ the Chinese responded, doesn’t apply if it’s exercised to question/threaten national sovereignty.
That’s what Morley did, China said, so they banned Morley’s name from internet searches. They won’t televise NBA pre-season games. Local games to be played against NBA players have been canceled, and an exhibition game between NBA teams may not be held. The Chinese even took South Park off the air because it aired a recent episode critical of the regime and those who seek to benefit financially from it, including those in America.
We need people like Daryl Morley.
