James fawned over China’s basketball culture and praised the “friendliness” of his “Chinese friends,” all while the NBA attempts to reopen its lucrative market in the authoritarian state fully, NBC News reported.
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James is the first NBA player ever to publish in People’s Daily — a paper infamous for rubber-stamping CCP talking points and suppressing political dissent.
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This isn’t new behavior for LeBron. Back in 2019, when then-Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey dared to speak up for democracy in Hong Kong, James didn’t stand for freedom — he attacked it. Calling Morey “misinformed,” LeBron warned about the supposed “ramifications” of exercising free speech. He stated:
We all talk about this freedom of speech. Yes, we all do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you’re not thinking about others, and you’re only thinking about yourself. I don’t want to get into a word or sentence feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn’t educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke. And so many people could have been harmed, not only financially, but physically, emotionally, spiritually.
In other words: speak up for liberty, and you might hurt LeBron’s brand deals.
James later said Morey’s pro-Hong Kong tweet could have caused harm “financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually.” But the only real harm? A dent in NBA profits from China.
LeBron’s lifetime Nike deal is reportedly worth $1 billion. His signature shoes? Among the top sellers in China.
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Actor James Woods may have said it best during the 2020 NBA playoff protests, when LeBron first threatened to boycott, then backed off. Woods tweeted: “His China handlers didn’t like the optics?”
The NBA is preparing to play its first preseason games in China since 2019.
When does a basketball player stop being just an athlete and start becoming a mouthpiece for a regime that crushes freedom?
Apparently, when the checks are big enough.
* Original Article:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/lebron-james-pens-love-letter-to-china-waxes-poetic-about-impressive-basketball-atmosphere