His first baseball position was catcher.įlood first played for George Powles, a local coach who mentored many future baseball stars at McClymonds High School and at other local teams. Then he found he could throw and was very coordinated. He discovered his athleticism at age 6 or 7 when he realized he was the fastest runner around. In his book, he describes himself as “having nothing,” and living in the ghetto. He was born in Texas but moved to West Oakland when he was two years old. Such is the path for the athlete - or sports executive- who wants to be viewed as more than that.Curt Flood (Janu– January 20, 1997) was a famous Major League Baseball player. This is the part of the story in which “no comment” says more than any comment ever could.įifty years ago Flood made a decision that took almost everything from him, all for the greater good. This is the part of his story in which the backlash can be far more damaging than unflattering remarks on TV or burned jerseys. He is going to offer an answer that is going to be unsatisfactory to someone, to some entity, to some country. He is going to be asked about the controversy. LeBron James, who is set to play preseason games in Shanghai, has positioned himself as a social justice warrior. It isn’t fair nor is it right, but to quote Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, “when things are bad, eat the weak and grow your business.” For an NBA trying to smooth things over with China, Morey has become a tasty morsel. The Brooklyn Nets’ scheduled visit to a Shanghai area school has been canceled by the Chinese government, according to an NBA official. Sports Hiltzik: In caving to the Chinese, the NBA reminds everyone that it’s a business like any other Or we can accept the fact that for all of the accolades the league receives for being progressive, at the end of the day it’s not willing to jeopardize a multibillion-dollar partnership for the sake of progressiveness. We could pretend no one in the NBA knew about the tensions - and more importantly, their cause - prior to Morey’s tweet. Protests have been tinged with violence, including deaths, since the middle of summer. For more than four months demonstrators in Hong Kong have been protesting a bill they believe would undermine the region’s autonomy and subject residents as well as visitors to mainland Chinese jurisdictions. And this isn’t just because of how it back pedaled away from Morey’s tweet, but also the fact it appeared comfortable with the relationship to begin with.Īfter all, the latest controversy is not new. So while the NBA is often positioned as the most forward thinking of the pro leagues, it is clearly as money hungry as the much-maligned NFL. Twenty years later it is clear trading with China also has exported censorship in exchange for doing business with the most populous country in the world. Now instead of debating whether or not James Harden’s latest move is a travel, the league is debating whether or not to sacrifice one of its top executives to appease the Chinese government.Ī conversation that’s riddled with irony considering when President Bill Clinton advocated for China to enter the World Trade Organization, the prevailing thought was that trading with China would expose the Communist nation to democracy and encourage freedom. Sports Could a tweet sink the NBA’s business relationships in China? It’s complicatedĪ tweet from an NBA general manager supporting Hong Kong protests could threaten the league’s business in China - and how the NBA is perceived in the U.S.
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