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#FreeHongKong #NBA #Kowtow
Feature for Personalising Apparel Disabled from NBA Official Online Store following Controversy on Restricting “FreeHongKong” as Text Option
NBA Spokesperson: There Were Attempts to Print Hateful Messages
Many NBA players have been showing their support for the recent movements against systemic racial discrimination in the US, and the National Basketball Players Association has reached an agreement with the NBA to allow slogans supporting racial equality to be printed on the back of jerseys. However, it was discovered last Monday that the NBA official online store had restricted apparel customisations that included the text “FreeHongKong”.
The website then briefly reopened orders for personalised apparel with “FreeHongKong” and explained that there was a technical problem previously. But four days later, the customisation feature was completely removed from the website.
An NBA spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that the apparel customisation feature was temporarily removed from the website since there were “attempts to include violent, abusive and hateful messages on personalised NBA jerseys”, yet no explanation was offered on the inappropriate language in question. Republican Senator Josh Hawley accused the NBA of carrying out censorship like China and not daring to offend Beijing.
Fox News pointed out that before the “FreeHongKong” controversy, the personalised apparel feature had allowed customisations of all sorts of texts, even violent messages such as “Kill Cops”.
A Stand News reporter logged into the NBA website on Friday morning and found all personalised apparel had been taken off the shelf. The only customisable item still available was the Los Angeles Lakers bear, but the text limit had been changed from 12 characters to 11, making it impossible to print the “FreeHongKong” slogan. However, “FreeHK” was still a possible choice and the reporter was able to proceed smoothly to the shopping cart for payment.
Another official NBA online store operator, Fanatics, is also no longer offering personalised NBA apparel, but the website still offers personalised gear from NFL, MLB and other leagues. Fans could still order apparel or gear with “FreeHongKong” text, but “Kill Cops” or other such hateful texts were not accepted.
Experts have opined that the incident has shown NBA’s double standards in allowing stance that pertains to equality movements in the US but hesitating to touch on topics sensitive to China.
Source: Stand News #Jul17
#SelectiveSupport #Inequality #FreeSpeech
#FreeHongKong #NBA #Kowtow
Feature for Personalising Apparel Disabled from NBA Official Online Store following Controversy on Restricting “FreeHongKong” as Text Option
NBA Spokesperson: There Were Attempts to Print Hateful Messages
Many NBA players have been showing their support for the recent movements against systemic racial discrimination in the US, and the National Basketball Players Association has reached an agreement with the NBA to allow slogans supporting racial equality to be printed on the back of jerseys. However, it was discovered last Monday that the NBA official online store had restricted apparel customisations that included the text “FreeHongKong”.
The website then briefly reopened orders for personalised apparel with “FreeHongKong” and explained that there was a technical problem previously. But four days later, the customisation feature was completely removed from the website.
An NBA spokesperson confirmed to Fox News that the apparel customisation feature was temporarily removed from the website since there were “attempts to include violent, abusive and hateful messages on personalised NBA jerseys”, yet no explanation was offered on the inappropriate language in question. Republican Senator Josh Hawley accused the NBA of carrying out censorship like China and not daring to offend Beijing.
Fox News pointed out that before the “FreeHongKong” controversy, the personalised apparel feature had allowed customisations of all sorts of texts, even violent messages such as “Kill Cops”.
A Stand News reporter logged into the NBA website on Friday morning and found all personalised apparel had been taken off the shelf. The only customisable item still available was the Los Angeles Lakers bear, but the text limit had been changed from 12 characters to 11, making it impossible to print the “FreeHongKong” slogan. However, “FreeHK” was still a possible choice and the reporter was able to proceed smoothly to the shopping cart for payment.
Another official NBA online store operator, Fanatics, is also no longer offering personalised NBA apparel, but the website still offers personalised gear from NFL, MLB and other leagues. Fans could still order apparel or gear with “FreeHongKong” text, but “Kill Cops” or other such hateful texts were not accepted.
Experts have opined that the incident has shown NBA’s double standards in allowing stance that pertains to equality movements in the US but hesitating to touch on topics sensitive to China.
Source: Stand News #Jul17
#SelectiveSupport #Inequality #FreeSpeech