<div>
<p>LeBron James, the NBA’s self-anointed “King,” has once again traded American values for Communist applause — this time by authoring a fawning op-ed in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>People’s Daily, the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship propaganda paper.</p>
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<p>James fawned over China’s basketball culture and praised the “friendliness” of his “Chinese friends,” all while the NBA attempts to reopen its lucrative market in the authoritarian state fully, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/lebron-james-china-nba-build-bridges-rcna230007">reported</a>.</p>
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<p data-start="647" data-end="788">“Basketball is not just a sport. It’s a bridge that connects us,” James wrote, as if quoting directly from the CCP’s global harmony playbook.</p>
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<p data-start="790" data-end="1037">James is the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>first NBA player ever<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to publish in People’s Daily — a paper infamous for rubber-stamping CCP talking points and suppressing political dissent.</p>
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<div>
<p>Now 40 and entering his<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>record-breaking 23rd NBA season, James did not use the platform to speak about democracy, freedom, or the Uyghur genocide, but to wax poetic about China’s “passion,” “friendliness,” and “impressive basketball atmosphere.” He gushed about how “moved” he is by China’s support and vowed to “give his all” in every game — as if his performance on the court were a debt owed to Beijing.</p>
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<div>
<p data-start="1448" data-end="1821">This isn’t new behavior for LeBron. Back in 2019, when then-Houston Rockets GM<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Daryl Morey dared to speak up for democracy in Hong Kong, James didn’t stand for freedom — he attacked it. Calling Morey “misinformed,” LeBron <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/14/us/lebron-james-nba-china-intl-hnk-scli">warned</a> about the supposed “ramifications” of exercising free speech. He stated:</p>
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<div>
<blockquote><p><em>We all talk about this freedom of speech. Yes, we all do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you&#8217;re not thinking about others, and you&#8217;re only thinking about yourself. I don&#8217;t want to get into a word or sentence feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn&#8217;t educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke. And so many people could have been harmed, not only financially, but physically, emotionally, spiritually.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></em></p></blockquote>
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<div>
<p>In other words: speak up for liberty, and you might hurt LeBron’s brand deals.</p>
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<div>
<p data-start="1823" data-end="1996">James later said Morey’s pro-Hong Kong tweet could have caused harm “financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually.” But the only real harm? A dent in NBA profits from China.</p>
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<div>
<p data-start="1998" data-end="2357">LeBron’s lifetime Nike deal is <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/lebron-james-nike-deal-bilion-maverick-carter">reportedly worth</a> $1 billion. His signature shoes? Among the top sellers in China.</p>
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<p data-start="2359" data-end="2562">The NBA has billions at stake in China. In 2019, the league signed a <a href="https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Global/2019/07/29/Tencent-NBA/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">$1.5 billion streaming contract</a> with Chinese tech giant Tencent and has <a href="https://www.isportconnect.com/cctv-agrees-new-deal-with-nba-china/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">business ties</a> to state-run CCTV, which famously <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/08/china-state-tv-suspends-nba-broadcasts-after-morey-hong-kong-tweet.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com">yanked NBA games</a> after the Morey incident.</p>
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<p data-start="2564" data-end="2828">Actor James Woods may have said it best during the 2020 NBA playoff protests, when LeBron first threatened to boycott, then backed off. Woods tweeted: “His China handlers didn’t like the optics?”</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">His China handlers didn’t like the optics? <a href="https://t.co/PsbhIXHd9E">https://t.co/PsbhIXHd9E</a></p>
<p>&mdash; James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1299356993061179394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
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<div>
<p>The NBA is preparing to play its first preseason games in China since 2019.</p>
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<p>When does a basketball player stop being just an athlete and start becoming a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>mouthpiece for a regime that crushes freedom?</p>
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<div>
<p data-start="3300" data-end="3343">Apparently, when the checks are big enough.</p>
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LeBron James Pens Love Letter to China, Waxes Poetic About ‘Impressive Basketball Atmosphere’

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LeBron James Pens Love Letter to China, Waxes Poetic About ‘Impressive Basketball Atmosphere’