Congress calls out NBA players with ties to Chinese slave labor
Washington Examiner
by Zachary Faria, Commentary Fellow | July 30, 2021
The NBA may have moved on from the controversies over its ties to China, but not everyone has. That includes members of Congress.
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China is urging NBA players to cut ties with three Chinese sportswear companies: Anta, Li-Ning, and Peak. The bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators state that the three companies have “all affirmed that they use cotton” produced in Xinjiang and called on the NBA Players Association to “educate their members about the use of forced labor” in China as well as the country’s genocide against the Uyghurs.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson first signed an endorsement deal with Anta in 2014. He has said that he wants to be the “Michael Jordan one day of Anta.” Anta’s roster of NBA players includes former All-Stars Gordon Hayward and Rajon Rondo. Li-Ning boasts deals with CJ McCollum and retired star Dwyane Wade. Peak has deals with three-time Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams and former NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova.
Chinese state media openly tout that all three companies use cotton from Xinjiang. Li-Ning even notes this on its clothing tags. In March, Anta said in a statement, “We have always bought and used cotton produced in China, including Xinjiang cotton, and in the future we will continue to do so.”
Xinjiang is the source of 85% of China’s cotton and is home to a forced labor program that Chinese propaganda is attempting to pass off as job training. And the NBA, home to the most prominent social justice advocates in the sports world, has been tied to the region before.
A bombshell ESPN report last August detailed the physical abuse of children in the NBA’s basketball academies in China. One of those camps was opened in Xinjiang in 2016, which the league did not close until 2019. The NBA managed to ignore that story thanks to friendly media outlets refusing to press the league on it (including ESPN itself). Thus far, players have mostly been able to shrug off questions about their business dealings in China as well.
But the NBA, which has been the most obnoxious sports league when it comes to pushing social justice, has also been the most accommodating when it comes to China’s genocidal regime. More than any major sports league, the NBA has cultivated a massive following in China. The league and its athletes will do anything to expand their economic footprint in the country, even if that means proudly representing brands that directly exploit slavery.
