A.G. Gancarski
For a U.S. Senator from Florida, an American sports league has no business doing business with what he considers a totalitarian regime.
Senator Rick Scott slammed on Friday the National Basketball Association for televising the remainder of The Finals in China.
The Senator’s comments came before Game 5, won by the Miami Heat and forcing another game with the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday evening, an event that viewers in mainland China will be able to watch.
“Tonight’s game demonstrates the NBA’s refusal to stand for human rights and instead choose to please the Communist Party of China for profits. This is shameful,” Scott remonstrated on his official Twitter account.
The Senator linked to an ESPN article lauding the state-controlled CCTV broadcast of the game as a breakthrough in international relations, complete with a quote from the broadcast outlet.
“During the recent Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, the NBA sent their well wishes to fans in China,” CCTV said in a statement. “We also took note of the league has been continuously delivering goodwill [to China], particularly making positive contributions to Chinese people’s fight against COVID-19 pandemic.”
Scott has been involved in a somewhat one-sided rhetorical battle against the league and the communist superpower, including a letter late last month “to leaders of NBA teams, Fortune 500 companies, the United Nations, and media urging them to use their respective roles to put human rights over profits, and stand with the Uyghurs and Hong Kongers living under the oppression of Communist China and General Secretary Xi Jinping.”
The missive included a direct callout of the league itself: “I urge the NBA and its athletes to use their platform to stand up for human rights, and stop playing games in Communist China.”
The decision to show the game on Chinese state television obviously contravened Scott’s wishes.
The Senator has repeatedly messaged about what he calls a “new Cold War” with China. However, the NBA clearly isn’t taking that seriously.
4 comments
Sonja Fitch
October 10, 2020 at 5:00 am
Lol. Nazi Rick knows exactly what it means to be “shameful “! Then again this is just a pathetic attempt by Nazi rick to show “emapthy”! Hope you are at the goptrump cult rally Monday in Sanford with Duffus Desantis , Mast, Rutherford, Byrd and of course the loser Gaetz and trumpvirus Trump!
Ocean Joe
October 10, 2020 at 7:36 am
Rick Scott is the last person on the planet to tell China or the NBA or anybody else about morals.
When corporate NASCAR rightfully dropped a nuclear bomb on the confederate flag Rick had nothing to say. Crickets.
Retake your deposition, waive the Fifth, answer honestly about HCA’s medicare billing practices and THEN preach to others.
DisplacedCTYankee
October 10, 2020 at 12:10 pm
Sen Scott probably skeered to death that the game will contain some small BLM mention, on the player’s jerseys, on the court floor, etc. The U.S. is rapidly losing its leverage for touting human rights and Scott and his GOP are leading the charge to the bottom.
Palmer Tom
October 11, 2020 at 4:46 pm
Meicare fraud. Gutting the environment and growth management. Rick Scott has not moral standing to talk about anything.
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