NBA, LeBron James Attack Kyle Rittenhouse, but Silent on Missing Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shuai
The National Basketball Association and its star player LeBron James have made numerous comments about the Kyle Rittenhouse trial but have been mysteriously silent about the fate of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who abruptly disappeared from public view after accusing a highly placed Chinese communist official of raping her.
The disappearance of Peng Shuai should have the attention of every athlete who wants sports to remain free of government interference, not to mention athletes who want to encourage women to speak out about sexual assault.
Shuai abruptly fell out of the public eye on November 2 after posting a message to Chinese social media accusing Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of raping her in 2019. But days after her post, her Weibo account — China’s version of Twitter — was shut down, and Shuai disappeared from public view.
Since then, the only thing that the world has seen of Peng Shuai is Chinese government-sponsored appearances or messages. Shuai herself has not been seen making statements or appearances of her own free will.
On the surface, the Peng Shuai case might seem to be just the sort of situation that self-styled civil rights activist LeBron James and the ultra-woke NBA would be interested in highlighting. However, neither the league, nor its usually loud star player have said a word about Shuai.
Yet, as Fox News recently noted, James and the NBA have been all over the Kyle Rittenhouse trial despite that both claim to be woke activists for human rights.
The NBA immediately posted a message decrying “vigilantism in our society” after Rittenhouse was acquitted of performing any act of “vigilantism.”
Statement from National Basketball Social Justice Coalition Executive Director James Cadogan on the verdict in Kenosha, Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/5jjTtssON2
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2021
Several weeks ago, LeBron James was also seen attacking the teenager who was physically assaulted during the 2020 Kenosha riots and who defended himself with a firearm. In a November 10 tweet, the 36-year-ld James ridiculed the 18-year-old Rittenhouse for tearing up on the stand as he stood on trial for his life in Wisconsin.
Another sports entity that often comments on topics if they redound negatively on the United States is sportswear giant Nike. But Nike has also been entirely silent on the oppression of Peng Shuai.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Tennis Association has not been as reticent to get involved in the Shuai case. The WTA has repeatedly called for a full investigation into what China has done to Shuai, and has threatened other action, as well.
Of course, the difference between the WTA and Nike, the NBA and LeBron James is that the WTA does not make billions of dollars with business deals with the communist Chinese government like the others.
Nike CEO John Donahoe, for instance, recently reaffirmed the Nike/China nexus by insisting that “Nike is a brand that is of China and for China.” Meanwhile, Nike reportedly made $1.9 billion with its sales and relationships in China.
As for LeBron James, it is estimated that he has secured a one billion-dollar contract with the “of China and for China” Nike, not to mention the millions he makes from China’s business partner, the NBA. So, LeBron’s finances run deep into red China.
Of course, the NBA is a huge partner with the oppressive communist country. The NBA has direct deals with Tencent, China’s streaming broadcast service, that is worth hundreds of millions a year. And the league and its players both earn millions a year each from deals with their Chinese partners. These deals have easily topped tens of billion dollars over the last decade.
All these from these groups who claim to be interested in human righta but who also turn a blind eye to the genocidal Chinese government’s vast record of human rights abuses. As NBA player Enes Kanter recently defined it, Nike, the NBA, and LeBron James are putting “money over morals.”
If Nike, the NBA and LeBron James actually cared about human rights, the case of Peng Shuai would be at the top of their list. That it isn’t is telling, indeed.
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