NBA Archives - The Minnesota Sun

NBA Doing Business with Chinese Company Accused of Using Slave Labor

May 3, 2021May 2, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

In the latest example of the National Basketball Association (NBA) undergoing scrutiny due to its close ties with China, the organization has been revealed to be doing business with a shady Chinese company that has been accused of producing goods with forced labor from Uyghur Muslims, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

The Chinese company in question is Anta Sports, the largest sportswear brand in all of China. Anta specifically relies on cotton from the Xinjiang region of China, which also happens to be one of the major hubs of systematic incarceration, indoctrination, and forced labor for Uyghur Muslims. Together, the NBA and Anta sell at least two different kinds of basketball shoes, with one of the shoes selling for up to $120 per pair in the United States.

The Xinjiang region, however, has seen more than one million Uyghurs removed from their homes and sent to concentration camps, known as “reeducation camps,” and are forced to do manual labor on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and other Chinese entities. Through such labor, Xinjiang produces approximately 85 percent of all cotton in China, and around 20 percent of the world’s supply of cotton.

NBA Player LeBron James Attempts to Dox Police Officer from Columbus Shooting

April 23, 2021April 22, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Basketball player LeBron James posted, then deleted, a tweet attempting to single out an officer from the recent police shooting in Columbus, Ohio, in which he tried to rally his supporters to dox and retaliate against the officer in question, as reported by Fox News.

James, who plays on the Los Angeles Lakers, posted a tweet featuring a screenshot from the bodycam footage of the incident, which took place on Tuesday. The footage showed the entirety of the chaotic scene as police arrived to break up a fight between two black teenage girls. One of the girls, 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant, was armed with a large knife and was preparing to stab another girl after shoving her up against a car. After multiple verbal warnings from police to drop the knife, the officer wearing the bodycam fired several shots, killing Bryant and saving the other girl’s life.

NBA Engaged in ‘Ongoing Business Discussions’ with a Chinese-Run Propaganda Network

April 11, 2021April 10, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The National Basketball Association (NBA) confirmed in a letter to a member of Congress that it is in the midst of “ongoing business discussions” with a television network that is operated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.

In a letter sent to Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on March 30th, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum explained that the organization is negotiating with China Central Television (CCTV), which is the leading television network for CCP propaganda. Although the NBA has not yet finalized a deal for the 2021, Tatum said that an “active role” is being played in the negotiations by Michael Ma, the CEO of NBA China, whose father once served as a lead executive for CCTV’s sports division.

CCTV specializes in airing pro-CCP propaganda, including forced confessions of political dissidents such as journalists and human rights activists, while also negatively covering the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong by comparing them to the Islamic terror group ISIS. It has also described Chinese-run concentration camps for Uyghur Muslims as “vocational centers.”

NBA Quiet on Chinese Slave Labor

December 21, 2020December 20, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The National Basketball Association is remaining quiet on the issue of Chinese slave labor, despite new revelations about the nature and sizeUighur Muslim labor camps.

In 2018, three Uyghur regions alone mobilized at least 570,000 laborers into cotton-picking through the government’s forced labor training and transfer scheme, according to a new Center for Global Policy report. When BBC reporters tried to visit the region to document its “huge industrial expansion” a number of unmarked cars followed them as they filmed the perimeter of the complex when officials stopped them from filming and they were forced to leave.

AP Source: NBA Players Decide to Continue Season at Disney

August 28, 2020August 27, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

A person with knowledge of the situation says NBA players decided Thursday that they want to continue the season, coming to that consensus one day after three postseason games were postponed in a protest of racial injustice.

It was not clear yet when the season would resume, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the National Basketball Players Association had announced anything publicly.

Boycott: NBA Playoff Games Called Off Amid Player Protest

August 26, 2020September 14, 2020 The Associated Press

All three NBA playoff games scheduled for Wednesday have been postponed, with players around the league choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice.

Called off: Games between Milwaukee and Orlando, Houston and Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland. The NBA said all three games would be rescheduled, yet did not say when.

Los Angeles Lakers Return $4.6 Million Small Business Loan

April 29, 2020April 28, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

The Los Angeles Lakers received and then returned a forgivable loan of roughly $4.6 million under a federal program designed to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

All These Major Places And Events Are Closed Due to Coronavirus Pandemic

March 15, 2020March 14, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

From Disney World to the Supreme Court, institutions across the country are being affected by the rampant spread of coronavirus.

Report: Basketball Legend Kobe Bryant Dead

January 26, 2020January 26, 2020 Admin

The Los Angeles Times reports basketball icon Kobe Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in L.A.’s Calabasas hills.

VP Pence Takes Aim at Nike, NBA in China Speech

October 27, 2019October 25, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

WHITE HOUSE – In a hard-hitting speech on China, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence also criticized American companies for selling out this country’s values to protect their market access in the world’s most populous country.

Commentary: Dear NBA, You Can’t Get ‘Woke’ by Ignoring China’s Tyranny, Concentration Camps and Slave Labor

October 12, 2019October 11, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

It is time for D.C.’s political pundits to get woke on the economy, while one particularly obnoxious group of wealthy virtue signalers are finding their true selves revealed.

The Left’s Delusions on Economics and the Slow Decline of Human Employment

July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 Julie Carr

During Monday’s broadcast of The Gill Report – live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville – conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill questioned whether the left truly understands the dynamics of equality and economics and how mandating the rise of minimum wage may inadvertently deplete a human…