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Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Pressed NBA performing Bill Koenig on Tuesday on the league’s ties to China, a highly discussed topic for some time.
Representatives from most of the major professional sports leagues were at Capitol on Tuesday to discuss media rights, broadcasts and streaming services throughout the industry.
During the hearing, Blackburn asked a few questions to Koenig, NBA’s President of Global Content & Media Distribution, specifically about how the league has dealt with China in recent years.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Arriving at a Senate Legal Committee’s Business Meeting at Dirksen Senat’s office building 13 February 2025, in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Blackburn began with a certain background about the situation.
“Over the years I have looked at NBA’s relationship with oppressive regimes across the globe,” Blackburn said. “And of course you have all had quite a nice relationship with CCP, and we know how they censor.
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“Go back to 2019 with Daryl Morey’s Tweet in support of Hong Kong Freedom Fighters, and that resulted in the suspension [of] NBA released on their state media channels. In recent years, it seems that you have all patched up that relationship, which means that there must be some kind of agreement that was there and must have been quite a deal. “
Morey, who was Houston Rockets’ General Manager at the time, fired by a tweet saying, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong,” in October 2019. The tweet was in support of pro-democratic protests that happened in the communist state.
China responded by announcing NBAS Forsy season that was expected to be played in Shanghai at the time would not be television. Then it expanded this suspension for almost a whole year before putting the NBA back on its state television during the NBA final by 2020.
After proposing the NBA and China had to come to an appointment to get their relationship back on track, Blackburn pressed Koenig for the details.
“So as we talk about broadcast rights and what they’re worth, why don’t you tell me what broadcast rights in China are worth and how much NBA owners have invested in China,” she said.
Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-tenn., Asks Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a Senate Financing Committee hearing about President Joe Bid’s proposed budget request for the financial year 2024 on Thursday 16 March 2023, at Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
“NBA has a very long history of distributing our games and content in China for more than 30 years,” Koenig replied, but it wasn’t enough for Blackburn.
“I am not asking for the time you have been to China. I ask what is the media rights worth? You are president of global content and media distribution. So what are these rights worth and how much has NBA owners invested in China?”
Koenig replied: “NBA does not publicly comment on the financial terms of our relationship – us or abroad. But I can comment that you are exactly that in the light of the tweet that Daryl Morey made in 2019 …”
“You had to cut a deal,” Blackburn replied, but Koenig said the league didn’t.
“The estimates are these media rights are worth hundreds of millions of dollars to all of you and that NBA tea -tea -owners have invested as much as $ 10 billion [in China]. I think some clarity in these numbers would be important, ”Blackburn added.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks at a press conference before an NBA in the tournament final game between Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers in T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas 9 December 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The other thing we look at is human rights, and we look at how NBA has punished players who have spoken against human rights violations in China. Enes edges Freedom, a specifically. Then you can commit me that in any agreement NBA does around the globe, the league maintains human rights, and that the league is keeping an eye on freedom in freedom,
Koenig replied by saying “one of NBA’s most important values is freedom of speech.”
“In fact, the example you quoted before – Daryl Morey. He was not disciplined or censored in any way in the light of the comments he made,” Koenig added. “You are right. This comment may have led to failure to cover CCTV and other things. But no, we value a lot of freedom of speech and that is something I can confirm.”
Since NBA repaired its relationship with China, Commissioner Adam Silver has stated that the league will investigate playing games there again.
“I think we will bring games back to China at some point,” he said in October. “The government of China took us off the air for a period of time. We accepted it. We stood by our values. … anyone in our league has the right to talk about political affairs.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-tenn., Asks Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump’s election to be secretary of health and human services, which he testifies to the Senate Finance Committee on January 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Silver also said in 2020 that the NBA experienced “dramatic” financial losses due to company sponsors fleeing, among other factors, following its relationship with China that was sourced.
By 2022, an ESPN survey found that NBA owners had invested a total of $ 10 billion in China, which included an owner whose business had a joint venture with a unit sanctioned by the US government.
