Early this month a National Basketball Association (NBA) Franchise General Manager, Daryl Morey, sent out a tweet siding with and displaying his support for the Hon Kong protestors, those who are demanding several civil rights protections from their own communist government. The Chinese government obviously did not take kindly to this, and immediately Chinese companies were quick to suspend any partnerships and agreements with the NBA, even barring games from appearing on television in the country, putting the multi-billion dollar relationship in jeopardy. The NBA's progressive civil-right issue reputation was then tarnished as stars, such as LeBron James, and executives condemned Morey's tweet and clearly sided with China in hopes to salvage their financial relationship.
It clearly seems that the NBA and other American businesses progressive human rights stances mean nothing when millions of dollars and licensing agreements are on the line.
Do you think it is ethical for American business to put financial gain over their own values when it comes to doing business with China?
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/nba-china-disaster-stress-test-capitalism/599947/
I feel like this article is a little misleading because the commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, said that despite Chinas request for Morey to be disciplined they would not discipline him because the NBA holds American values like free speech since it is an american company. But i did find it interesting how players such as Lebron James refused to comment on the situation.
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DeleteAdam Silver said that he wouldn't discipline Morey as a direct result of a week filled with backlash from the American public. The NBA's initial statement stated that “We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable... made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA." So I'm not sure how much credibility we can put into Silver's attempt to dig himself and the NBA out of this hole.
DeleteI definitely agree with you Lucas, that this behavior is unethical. I think part of the reason there is so much controversy over these individuals siding with China is that our government has done little to take a direct stance in the matter. When this much money is at stake due to the large nature of this market firms are likely to side with the larger payout as it would take a large shift in the fan base to outweigh the gains from expanding into China.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I believe that saying nothing or remaining 'neutral' in this case is not merely enough.
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ReplyDeleteLucas,
As economists we generally side with doing anything possible to maintain business and maximize profit. However, when basic civil rights issues come into play is where I think a strong line should be set. A conservative estimate has NBA revenue from China at 500 million annually. And I do not expect the owners to give up this revenues so easily . I believe keeping silent on these issues for fear of losing business deals is very unethical and cowardly.
I agree, it seems that there is a clear double standard in existence with the NBA, and other companies like Nike and Apple.
DeleteThey all appear progressive with civil rights issues until it begins to cut into their profit margins.