{"id":35895,"date":"2022-06-04T01:56:12","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T01:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/adam-silver-nba-commissioner-says-league-lost-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-due-to-china-fallout-touches-on-brittney-griner-situation\/"},"modified":"2022-06-04T01:56:12","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T01:56:12","slug":"adam-silver-nba-commissioner-says-league-lost-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-due-to-china-fallout-touches-on-brittney-griner-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/adam-silver-nba-commissioner-says-league-lost-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-due-to-china-fallout-touches-on-brittney-griner-situation\/","title":{"rendered":"Adam Silver: NBA commissioner says league lost &#8216;hundreds of millions of dollars&#8217; due to China fallout, touches on Brittney Griner situation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_294874F7-3A4C-DCBD-85AB-299878E978FD\">A tweet in support of pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong by then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sparked a diplomatic storm between the NBA and China.  <\/div>\n<p>After the league had initially distanced themselves from Morey&#8217;s tweet, expressing regret for offending &#8220;friends and fans in China,&#8221; Silver later came out in support of the coach in terms of his freedom of expression.<\/p>\n<div data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_569A67EA-5DC0-141F-34B3-299878ED8809\">Chinese state-run television network CCTV subsequently stopped airing NBA games in the country due to &#8220;strong dissatisfaction&#8221; over Silver&#8217;s comments, before ending their blackout in March by broadcasting the Los Angeles Clippers&#8217; game against the Utah Jazz.<\/div>\n<div data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_7BBDA2AC-9CFC-F4E9-6033-299A6A99690A\">Speaking at his customary press conference ahead of the NBA Finals on Thursday, Silver told reporters he believed &#8220;positive&#8221; steps had been made, regardless of the financial cost.<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--standard\">\n<div class=\"el__storyelement--standard el__article--embed\">\n<div class=\"el__article--teaseimage\"><noscript><img alt=\"Celtics mount huge fourth-quarter comeback to stun the Warriors in Game 1 of NBA Finals\" class=\"media__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603032752-02-celtics-win-game-1-nba-finals-large-169.jpg?ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;My position is &#8230; engagement is positive, particularly through sports,&#8221; Silver said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;To keep people safe and prosperous, using sports as a platform to keep people around the world talking is critically important. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At the same time, I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s inconsistent with our values \u200b\u200bfor our game to be broadcast in China and 200-plus other countries in the world. So that&#8217;s where things stand.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Very specifically, I think it&#8217;s a positive thing right now that we are exporting this Americana, NBA basketball and the messages that come with it, to China,&#8221; Silver added.<\/p>\n<p><h3>Accepting losses<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_AA9F54E0-E7A5-77F3-051A-299878FBB569\">Free agent NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom has used his social media platform to criticize China&#8217;s treatment of the Uyghur community and had called for a boycott of February&#8217;s Winter Olympics in Beijing.<\/div>\n<p>The 30-year-old former Boston Celtic&#8217;s comments on the Games prompted a backlash in the Asian nation, drawing criticism from the government and leading to Celtics games being pulled from Chinese video streaming site Tencent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_19CA2B18-BB74-38D7-C041-29987900CBB2\">Freedom is now a free agent after being waived by the Houston Rockets in February, a move that he alleged to the New York Times in March was due to his activism. <\/div>\n<p>Silver denied the claim, telling the Times that he had spoken to Freedom to &#8220;make it absolutely clear to him that it was completely within his right to speak out on issues that he was passionate about.&#8221; <\/p>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--fullwidth\">\n<div class=\"el__image--fullwidth js__image--fullwidth\">\n<div><img class=\"media__image media__image--responsive\" alt=\"Freedom playing against the Los Angeles Lakers in November 2021.\" src-mini=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154027-01-nba-adam-silver-small-169.jpg\" src-xsmall=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154027-01-nba-adam-silver-medium-plus-169.jpg\" src-small=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154027-01-nba-adam-silver-large-169.jpg\" src-medium=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154027-01-nba-adam-silver-exlarge-169.jpg\" src-large=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154027-01-nba-adam-silver-super-169.jpg\" src-full16x9=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154027-01-nba-adam-silver-full-169.jpg\" src-mini1x1=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154027-01-nba-adam-silver-small-11.jpg\" data-demand-load=\"not-loaded\" data-eq-pts=\"mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP\/\/\/\/\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI+py+0Po5yUFQA7\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"Freedom playing against the Los Angeles Lakers in November 2021.\" class=\"media__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154027-01-nba-adam-silver-large-169.jpg?ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>At his press conference Thursday, the commissioner cited the large financial losses as evidence that the NBA would &#8220;stand behind&#8221; its players&#8217; freedom of speech.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We accept that [the losses]&#8221;Silver said.&#8221; If those are the consequences, that&#8217;s what I mean that our values \u200b\u200btravel with us.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Others since then have spoken out about their views around China and other places in the world. If the consequences are that we&#8217;re taken off the air or we lose money, we accept that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><h3>Breaking the glass ceiling<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Discussing his desire to see female head coaches in the NBA, Silver admitted there was a &#8220;glass ceiling&#8221; to break through. <\/p>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_392E29FA-7306-98B5-9D79-2998790E3D82\">In December, Becky Hammon &#8211; the first full-time female assistant coach in NBA history who was with the San Antonio Spurs &#8211; announced she would be leaving her role at the end of the season to take on the head coaching role at the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA.<\/div>\n<p>Hammon, revealing she had interviewed for multiple NBA head coaching positions, told reporters in January that the move was a &#8220;step forward.&#8221;  The six-time WNBA All-Star has made a scintillating start in Vegas and was crowned the league&#8217;s coach of the month en route to an all-time best 9-1 opening record by a new coach. <\/p>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--fullwidth\">\n<div class=\"el__image--fullwidth js__image--fullwidth\">\n<div><img class=\"media__image media__image--responsive\" alt=\"Becky Hammon directs her team during the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 23.\" src-mini=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154127-02-nba-adam-silver-small-169.jpg\" src-xsmall=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154127-02-nba-adam-silver-medium-plus-169.jpg\" src-small=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154127-02-nba-adam-silver-large-169.jpg\" src-medium=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154127-02-nba-adam-silver-exlarge-169.jpg\" src-large=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154127-02-nba-adam-silver-super-169.jpg\" src-full16x9=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154127-02-nba-adam-silver-full-169.jpg\" src-mini1x1=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154127-02-nba-adam-silver-small-11.jpg\" data-demand-load=\"not-loaded\" data-eq-pts=\"mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP\/\/\/\/\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI+py+0Po5yUFQA7\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"Becky Hammon directs her team during the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 23.\" class=\"media__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154127-02-nba-adam-silver-large-169.jpg?ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Praising Hammon&#8217;s move as a &#8220;terrific opportunity,&#8221; Silver asserted there was &#8220;no reason&#8221; why the NBA should not employ more women as coaches and officials.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In the same way that we have made progress in terms of Black coaches, it requires constant dialogue,&#8221; Silver said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;[It] requires making sure there is a pipeline of women who are coming up, who are known to our teams &#8230; break down the old boys&#8217; network to the extent one exists where maybe it&#8217;s not intentional bias but people hire their friends, people hire the people they have worked with before, people hire the people they know.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to stick with it, but I would love to see that breakthrough happen sooner rather than later.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><h3>Aiding Griner&#8217;s release<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_A20B923F-CACD-37A9-210A-2998791E45A0\">Silver opened his press conference with an update on Brittney Griner, the WNBA player who has now been in detention in Russia for over 100 days.<\/div>\n<p>The two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested in February at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities accused her of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, a Russian court extended the 31-year-old athlete&#8217;s pretrial detention until at least June.<\/p>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--fullwidth\">\n<div class=\"el__image--fullwidth js__image--fullwidth\">\n<div><img class=\"media__image media__image--responsive\" alt=\"Griner playing for the Phoenix Mercury during the WNBA playoffs in October 2021.\" src-mini=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154225-03-nba-adam-silver-small-169.jpg\" src-xsmall=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154225-03-nba-adam-silver-medium-plus-169.jpg\" src-small=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154225-03-nba-adam-silver-large-169.jpg\" src-medium=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154225-03-nba-adam-silver-exlarge-169.jpg\" src-large=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154225-03-nba-adam-silver-super-169.jpg\" src-full16x9=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154225-03-nba-adam-silver-full-169.jpg\" src-mini1x1=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154225-03-nba-adam-silver-small-11.jpg\" data-demand-load=\"not-loaded\" data-eq-pts=\"mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP\/\/\/\/\/\/\/wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI+py+0Po5yUFQA7\"\/><noscript><img alt=\"Griner playing for the Phoenix Mercury during the WNBA playoffs in October 2021.\" class=\"media__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154225-03-nba-adam-silver-large-169.jpg?ssl=1\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\" data-paragraph-id=\"paragraph_42F66592-98F0-D4AC-BF95-2A08CA1A0BCC\">The US State Department has stated Griner is being wrongfully detained, with Silver revealing that the NBA was working alongside the government to negotiate her release.<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t want to not mention Brittney Griner while I&#8217;m here,&#8221; Silver said.  &#8220;I think it&#8217;s something that all of us should be heard on, contacting your representatives and others.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our hearts go out to her and her family, and just are eager for her safe return.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>CNN&#8217;s Jill Martin, George Ramsay, Ben Church, Matt Foster and Zoe Sottile contributed to reporting.<\/p>\n<p>  .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A tweet in support of pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong by then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sparked a diplomatic storm between the NBA and China. After the league had initially distanced themselves from Morey&#8217;s tweet, expressing regret for offending &#8220;friends and fans in China,&#8221; Silver later came out in support of the coach in &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/adam-silver-nba-commissioner-says-league-lost-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-due-to-china-fallout-touches-on-brittney-griner-situation\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Adam Silver: NBA commissioner says league lost &#8216;hundreds of millions of dollars&#8217; due to China fallout, touches on Brittney Griner situation<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[11],"tags":[17048,19,17049],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/220603154306-04-nba-adam-silver-super-tease.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35895"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35895\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}