Washington (AFP)

Statement by NBA boss Adam Silver, who has supported a leader of the Houston Rockets team after polemical remarks about China and Hong Kong, confirms that, step by step, the powerful basketball league is no longer afraid to take a position on political issues.

After flat apologies from the Rockets and the NBA, Adam Silver changed course Tuesday defending Texas General Manager Daryl Morey, who called last week to support the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

The North American basketball league will not "regulate what players, its employees and club owners say or do not say about these issues," he said.

"We do not apologize for Daryl's use of his freedom of expression," said the 57-year-old lawyer from New York.

An output in half measure for some, but did not fail to upset the Chinese state television CCTV, which announced "suspend" the broadcast of the two exhibition games scheduled this week in the country.

The NBA, which weighs tens of billions of dollars, has long remained silent on sensitive issues, especially when they could affect its turnover.

His former boss David Stern, in power between 1984 and 2014, was particularly vigilant that his championship retains a smooth and moderate image, likely to appeal to the American middle class.

The political speeches of the players were discouraged and David Stern even found accused of racism when, in 2005, he imposed his "dress code" to the players, injured or suspended, who did not participate in the matches.

Under the impulse of the hip-hop movement, many basketball players had made their way to rappers and street wear, sporting baggys pants, XL t-shirts and flashy jewelery.

Worried that this could scare the white middle classes, David Stern had imposed a more formal attire.

- "Inclusion, respect, diversity" -

But since his arrival in 2014, Adam Silver has wanted to be more in tune with the aspirations of his black players, about 75% of the total players in the league, explaining having a "special obligation" in this sense.

He encourages them, he says, to give their views on the politics of the country, "like any American."

During an interview in 2016 at the ESPN website The Undefeated, he recalled the cardinal values, in his eyes, of the NBA: "Inclusion, respect, diversity".

In September of that same year, while many basketball stars were protesting against the police violence and racial tensions that ravaged the country, he explained he wanted to accompany the players to "achieve strong actions".

What to do with David Stern, who, by his own admission, was accused of having "a mentality of plantations" during the negotiations concerning the collective agreement of the league and the wages of the players.

In an interview last month, he admitted that, under the leadership of his successor, the NBA "could really prove its fullest openness".

Adam Silver, who was seen participating in the Gay Pride in New York alongside Jason Collins, the first player in the championship to announce his homosexuality, also canceled the All Star Game - a major annual meeting between best players of the championship-- in Charlotte in 2017.

The reason? The North Carolina vote on a controversial law that discriminates against transgender people.

This text imposed on a person the use of public toilets according to his sex of birth, and not according to the sex with which it is identified.

After a year of battle, the state parliamentarians had finally gone back and the city of Charlotte got its All-Star Game in 2019.

In the case of China, will remain to find a balance between freedom of expression and economic interests for Mr. Silver, who explained to be "realistic" and want to meet the Chinese officials during his trip to Shanghai this week, for a match. exhibition between Lakers and Nets.

According to various estimates, between 500 and 800 million Chinese people watched an NBA game last year. A market like no other.

© 2019 AFP