U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) reported after a meeting of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, that she “pressed the NBA on their shady ties to Communist China.”
As seen in the video below, Blackburn addressed representatives from the National Basketball Association at the meeting, including President of Global Content & Media Distribution Bill Koenig: “I’ve, through the years, looked into the NBA’s relationship with an oppressive regimes around the globe. And of course you all have had a cozy relationship with the CCP, and we know how they censor.”
[NOTE: The NBA will send teams to compete in preseason games in China in September 2025 — for the first time since 2019. The teams will play in Macao’s Venetian Arena, which is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corp, an American company run by major Trump donors Patrick Dumont and the Adelson family. Dumont, the son-in-law of billionaire Trump mega-donor Miriam Adelson who recently purchased a majority interest in the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, is the President of Sands.]
Casting suspicion on the globally popular league’s business ethics, Blackburn added: “And going back to 2019, with Daryl Morey‘s tweet, in support of the Hong Kong freedom fighters and that resulted in the suspension of NBA broadcast on their state-run media channels. And in recent years it appears that you all have patched that relationship up, which means there had to be some sort of deal that was there and must have been quite a deal.”
Note: Morey, who was then the general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted his support for the pro-democracy demonstrations taking place in Hong Kong. Blackburn doesn’t mention it, but NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed his support for Morey “in terms of his ability to exercise his freedom of expression,” and said the NBA could not regulate what “players, employees and team owners” say.
Today, I pressed the @NBA on their shady ties to Communist China. The American people deserve transparency, and we want to know if the NBA will prioritize our values over their profits. pic.twitter.com/Kg6Y7VsMGv
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) May 6, 2025
Blackburn asked Koenig what the broadcast rights in China are worth, and how much have NBA owners have invested in China. (She claims they’ve invested an estimated $10 billion, without citing a reference.)
Koenig replied, “The NBA does not comment publicly on the financial terms of our relationships in the U.S. or abroad.”
He noted that Blackburn was correct in that the NBA games were taken off the air in China after Morey’s tweet in 2019, but asserted that a deal — as the Senator insinuates — was not made. Koenig also said the NBA did not make any concessions on free speech, and pointed out that the NBA did not discipline Morey in any way after his tweet.” Note: Morey is currently president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers.
MAGA supporters and conservatives are slamming Blackburn for spending her time in Congress with such questioning. As one replied: “Respectfully, ya’ll have gotten nothing done and you’re spending the little bit of time in DC talking about the NBA?” Another chimed in: “Really, the NBA and their blatant relationship with CCP is your priority today?”
Others asked Blackburn — if she is going to focus on sports and oppression — to also call out President Trump for hosting LIV golf tournaments funded by Saudi Arabia, another country which does not protect freedom of speech.
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