Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Friday, July 24, mocked National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver after learning that the he has committed the maximum donation to the Joe Biden campaign.
“Am shocked, just shocked to see the NBA commissioner supporting Biden. I guess the CCP approves?” Cruz tweeted in response to the news from Daily Wire.
Am shocked, just shocked to see the NBA commissioner supporting Biden. I guess the CCP approves? https://t.co/usMTQRy0YT
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 24, 2020
Cruz has been strongly critical of the NBA’s position when it comes to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The NBA last year succumbed to financial pressure from the CCP and failed to protect free speech rights after the general manager of the Houston Rockets posted a tweet in support of the movement in Hong Kong, which sparked an immediate backlash from the Chinese Communist Party.
“What ended up happening is the NBA as a league began this series of apologies, and it was really sad to see an American company and indeed a global sports league like the NBA being dragooned into censoring the free speech of American citizens in the interest of big bucks,” Cruz told the “Face the Nation” at the time.
Under pressure from U.S. government, the NBA has announced it has withdrawn from a sports training center located in Xinjiang, a region where the CCP is holding more than 1 million people in concentration camps. However, it continues doing business with CCP-linked companies such as Alibaba.
Many NBA stars, coaches, and executives have since been criticized for taking a stance on Black Lives Matter and anti-Trump issues while refusing to speak out against the CCP. Cruz was recently embroiled in a Twitter feud with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban over anthem kneeling, challenging Cuban to speak about the CCP.
Really??!?
NBA is telling everyone who stands for the flag, who honors our cops and our veterans, to “piss off”? In Texas, no less?
Good luck with that. pic.twitter.com/AVWLMZIqu0
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
Speaking of balls, tell us what you think about China.
I’ll wait. https://t.co/s68JYk9MLR
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
“When it comes to communist China, [the NBA makes] a crap ton of money from China so they silence everybody,” Cruz said. “They’re not willing to say a word.”
“Show me an NBA player who’s allowed to put ‘Tiananmen Square’ on the back of his jersey, then I’ll be impressed with their commitment to free speech,” he added.
Still no answer from @mcuban
Let’s try simpler. Mark, tough guy, can you say “Free Hong Kong”?
Can your players put that on their jerseys?
Can you condemn the CCP’s concentration camps w/ 1 million Uyghurs?
Can you say ANYTHING other than “Chairman Mao is beautiful & wise”? https://t.co/0XpLRaFSw2
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 20, 2020
