Sports
A climber who just happened to walk by a Kentucky replica of the southern border wall told the Deadspin sports blog it was fairly easy to climb the "very ugly symbol." With some egging on by Deadspin interviewer Giri Nathan, Peter Favaloro said people walking through desert heat could surely scale the wall, too.
Fearing another loss by Democrats in the 2020 elections, would-be political adviser Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is offering a game plan to progressives in hopes that their nominee will defeat "liar and cheater" President Donald Trump in the UK Guardian.
There's no need for African American NBA players to stand with Hong Kong, not when America has far greater flaws, wrote The Shadow League blogger Carron J. Phillips. It's not their responsibility to save the world, especially a problem created by a white man, he argued. Instead, they should focus on overcoming white privilege and police brutality in America.
By refusing to stand up for the freedom of Hong Kong against China's oppressive government, LeBron James experienced the "most disgraceful moment" of his career, says the USA Today. Other media joined in the beat-down of the Lakers' superstar, but some excused James' words by turning their venom on America.
After the Washington Mystics won the WNBA title last week, Martenzie Johnson took to the ESPN blog, The Undefeated, to declare that athletes who are heavily into social justice activism are not distractions, but champions. The WNBA is considered the most far Left league in American sports, and the mouthy Mystics are one of the most socially active teams in that league.
You know it's bad for the NBA when the media, who normally applaud the huge cultural icon for championing its social justice warriors, is getting slammed by the liberal media. On Sunday, Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press took the NBA apart for acquiescing to China's iron-fisted tyrants. While at it, he also characterized the normally untouchable SJW mouthpiece LeBron James as a money-talks hypocrite.
The National Basketball Association found itself in the middle of a political firestorm of its own making when the Houston Rockets' general manager tweeted something simple and admirable: “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong.” The NBA’s first statement was cowardly. It began “We recognize that the views expressed by…Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable.” Morey buckled and deleted his tweet.
The NBA then went overseas to grovel.
Earlier this week, Newsbusters' Gabriel Hays exposed Golden State Warriors' woke coach Steve Kerr for saying nothing about China's brutal crackdown on freedom-seeking Hong Kong citizens. "If only he would be as circumspect when gun control or Donald Trump are at issue,'' Hays wrote. No sooner said than done. In a Thursday press conference, Kerr gave China another pass, ridiculed President Trump and condemned America for abuses and gun violence.
The recent Chinese/NBA debacle is a time of reckoning for folks who take athlete activism seriously. In the past, superstar Golden State Warrior captain Stephen Curry has been quite vocal about status quo lefty politics and his hatred for Donald Trump, but like his coward coach, Steve Kerr, the outspoken can’t star seem to find an answer when asked about actual oppression from the NBA’s business partner, the communist Chinese government.
The NBA sure talks a good game about free speech rights ― out of one side of its collective mouth. Amidst China's seething anger over Houston general manager Daryl Morey expressing support for freedom in Hong Kong, NBA commissioner Adam Silver mildly defended the American's free speech rights. But on Tuesday night, two fans were ejected from an NBA exhibition game in Philadelphia for peacefully protesting against China. Talk about inconsistency.
The NBA isn't the only organization drawing criticism for the China-Daryl Morey controversy. ESPN now looks like the Worldwide Leader In Sports Compromisers, as its television commentators treat the controversy with kid gloves. Deadspin's Laura Wagner points out that ESPN has a working agreement with Tencent, a large Chinese internet company that covers the NBA, and may not want to anger its partners.
One would have presumed that woke, anti-Trump NBA coach Steve Kerr would be making a stand against all things authoritarian. After all, he’s one of the bigger virtue-signallers in the sports world. Yet when faced with the actual fascism of China policing the speech of his American colleagues, the Golden State Warriors coach has nothing at all to say. Maybe it’s just a lefty’s residual soft spot for communists, or maybe some big money is at stake.