Rumors

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a welcome dinner on November 15 in San Francisco. Before the dinner, California Governor Gavin Newsom presented him with a jersey of the NBA team, the Golden State Warriors.

news.cgtn.com

Yao Ming was in New York as part of a U.S. trip last week by a group of 30 mainland Chinese visitors to promote people-to-people ties between the two countries ahead of a possible meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November.

Forbes.com

Former NBA star Jeremy Lin, who plays for a Chinese team, was fined 10,000 yuan ($1,400) for “inappropriate remarks” on social media about quarantine facilities ahead of a game, China’s professional league announced Friday, as the government tries to stop protests against anti-virus controls that are among the world's most stringent. Also Friday, more cities eased restrictions, allowing shopping malls, supermarkets and other businesses to reopen following protests last weekend in Shanghai and other areas in which some crowds called for President Xi Jinping to resign. Urumqi in the northwest, site of a deadly fire that triggered the protests, announced supermarkets and other businesses were reopening.

wsls.com

Yao Ming recently invited Boston Celtics big man Enes Kanter Freedom to China in an attempt to change the latter’s tune about the Asian powerhouse. Freedom, who has been a vocal critic of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, did not waste much time responding to the former Houston Rockets center’s offer. Enes Kanter: Just yesterday, I saw on the news that former NBA player Yao Ming invited me to China. I want to be very clear. I have nothing against Chinese people. My problem is with the cultish Chinese Communist Party and the brutal dictator, Xi Jinping. Well, I wanna say thank you for your kind offer. And yes, I accept your invite. I will like to come to China this summer and see everything with my own eyes. But on this trip, will we be able to visit the Uyghur slave labor camps? Or visit the innocent women being tortured, raped, and abused?

Clutch Points

Enes Kanter: President @JoeBiden & Dictator Xi Jinping are scheduled to speak @POTUS Stop playing games with bullies & do what you promised to the world! Prioritize Human Rights! Will @JoeBiden ask about Uyghur Genocide or assault on Tibetans & HK? Or will they pat each other on the back?

Twitter

Enes Kanter: The genocidal Chinese government and the insecure tyrant behind it all XI JINPING must not be allowed to host the upcoming Winter Olympics. Say NO to @Beijing2022 !! #FreedomShoes #NoBeijing2022

Twitter

Enes Kanter: Heartless Dictator of China, XI JINPING and the Communist Party of China. I am calling you out in front of the whole world. Close down the SLAVE labor camps and free the UYGHUR people! Stop the GENOCIDE, now! #FreeUyghurs

Twitter

Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter slammed Chinese President Xi Jinping on social media before wearing shoes emblazoned with the slogan “Free Tibet” during his team’s NBA game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. The shoes were made by Shanghai-born, Australia-based dissident cartoonist Badiucao, who had a show in Hong Kong cancelled in 2018, and were worn by Kanter while he was on the bench during the season-opening game in New York.

SCMP

Donald Trump first found out about the situation, according to The New York Times, when members of his staff saw it on CNN just before Trump's dinner with the president of China, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Thursday. Trump would later tell reporters on Tuesday, Nov. 14, that he first heard about the situation "two days ago," at which point he personally asked the Chinese president to look into the matter. The White House did not respond to requests to clear up the timeline, but UCLA sources say they didn't become aware of Trump's involvement until Sunday when White House chief of staff John Kelly called the players to say that Trump was intervening on their behalf and that he was optimistic of a quick resolution. A Pac-12 source, who was not present for the actual call from Kelly, confirmed the UCLA sources' description of the timeline. "The situation was already resolved by the time we heard about Trump's involvement," one team source said. "That's not to take away from the fact that he got involved, but the players already had their passports back and their flights booked to go home Tuesday night when Gen. Kelly called the players."

ESPN

Ohm Youngmisuk: LaVar Ball reiterated there's no reason for him to thank President Trump in the case of his son, LiAngelo, and two other UCLA freshmen returning to the U.S. after being held in China for shoplifting. "You heard what he tweeted," Ball said of Trump during an interview on CNN. "He tweeted because he is mad at me [that] I should have left their asses in jail. First of all, they weren't in jail, they were in a hotel. How did they get into a hotel? Somebody had to do something. Did he do it? If he paid for the money to put up whatever we needed to do then I would say thank you. Did he do that?... He said he helped. How did he help? If he helped, I would say thank you... Do I think the president helped? I don't know. I don't care and I don't know." Ball did thank Chinese President Xi Jinping.

ESPN

LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill won’t face charges for their alleged shoplifting at three high-end luxury stores—including Louis Vuitton—in China, but that doesn’t mean the three UCLA Bruins basketball players got off entirely scot-free. Aside from whatever punishment awaits them in Los Angeles from the university and the Pac-12, Ball and his freshmen teammates got a public scolding from U.S. President Donald Trump, who intervened with Chinese President Xi Jinping on their behalf. “You know, you’re talking about very long prison sentences,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One at the end of his tour through Asia on Tuesday, per the Wall Street Journal’s James T. Areddy. “They do not play games.”

Lonzo Wire

The N.B.A. is fortunate that basketball’s broad appeal transcends national lines. Even Xi Jinping, China’s president, is a fan — he took in a Los Angeles Lakers game in the United States in 2012. The league has been able to promote its brand through cooperation with the Chinese government at its highest levels. “It wasn’t that long ago when people spoke of Ping-Pong diplomacy, but I think we’ve now entered the era of basketball diplomacy,” said David Shoemaker, chief executive of N.B.A. China. The next night, crowds trying to escape the maw of the Beijing subway were subjected to a gantlet of scalpers. “Do you need tickets? How many? I’ve got a great deal,” said one man, who offered courtside seats with a face value of 3,200 renminbi for 2,000 renminbi (about $325) and whose cheapest nosebleed seats would still set a fan back 200 renminbi, a bit over $30.

New York Times

The N.B.A. is fortunate that basketball’s broad appeal transcends national lines. Even Xi Jinping, China’s president, is a fan — he took in a Los Angeles Lakers game in the United States in 2012. The league has been able to promote its brand through cooperation with the Chinese government at its highest levels. “It wasn’t that long ago when people spoke of Ping-Pong diplomacy, but I think we’ve now entered the era of basketball diplomacy,” said David Shoemaker, chief executive of N.B.A. China.

New York Times

In a sign of Andrew Goudelock's slightly increasing profile, officials from Chinese shoe company Peak wrote a greeting to Chinese vice president Xi Jinping on Goudelock's shoes Friday night. Xi was at Staples Center for the game against Phoenix. Goudelock has a two-year endorsement deal with Peak. "Just to be able to represent a company is the biggest thing for me," said Goudelock, selected 46th overall by the Lakers last June. "I'm trying to make my way. They're trying to make their way. It's a good fit."

Los Angeles Times