China has been on the receiving end of criticism and scorn due to the ongoing Hong Kong protests. Some of this criticism has sparked more controversy here in the US, most noticeably with Blizzard Entertainment and the National Basketball Association.
Blizzard has been under fire after their punishment of Ng Wai Chung, a professional gamer from Hong Kong. Chung, who goes by the alias of “Blitzchung,” was participating in a post-game interview after a Grandmasters tournament for Hearthstone, one of Blizzard’s games. During this interview with two streamers, Chung put on a ski mask and gas mask, like those worn by Hong Kong protesters, and reportedly said in his native language, “Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our age.”
Blizzard’s immediate response to this was taking away prize money Chung had won and banning him from professionally playing Hearthstone esports for a year. This provoked mass outrage from the esports community. Blizzard subsequently reversed their decision, returning his prize money and only enforcing a 6-month ban.
As for the NBA, a massive fallout between the franchise and China has resulted due to a tweet by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. In the tweet, Morey expressed support for the Hong Kong protesters, saying, “[F]ight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.” As a result, not only have the Rockets faced backlash, but the relationship between the NBA and China as a whole has been threatened immensely.
China has suspended preseason NBA broadcasts in the country, with Chinese state-run broadcast network CCTV also stating that it would “investigate all cooperation and exchanges with the NBA.” The league currently has a $1.5 billion streaming deal with Chinese media company Tencent, which is also currently at risk. This could mean a huge loss for the NBA.
Chinese celebrities are also reportedly boycotting the NBA China games. Multiple brands such as Anta Sports Products Ltd and Vivo are completely disassociating themselves with the Rockets, and even the NBA store in Beijing has “replaced Rockets gear with apparel from other teams.” Is the fallout from all of this repairable, or is it doomed to worsen?
Darlon Riviere - Staff Writer