＂Lei Yu＂ dampened the enthusiasm of NBA China Games, and many related activities were cancelled.

　　Zhongxin Online Haihai, October 9 (Reporter Miao Lu Yin Liqin) There is only one day left before the NBA China Game. According to the usual practice in previous years, the outside of the Mercedes-Benz Cultural Center should be in full swing at this time. However, due to the impact of Morey’s "Lei Yu" incident, the reporter saw a particularly deserted scene at the scene.

　　The Center Stage area of the outdoor venue is being demolished. Photo by Yin Liqin

　　In the Center Stage area of the outdoor venue, the original performance venue and the chairs left for the audience to watch the activities are being demolished, and the scene is in a mess. The cleaning staff is cleaning up the demolished garbage. The booths of Gatorade and other brand sponsors on both sides of Center Stage have also stopped building, and some have even disappeared, and the signs with NBA Logo have been removed one after another. Even the China flags on both sides of the road were not spared, and they were picked by the staff overnight.

　　At 9: 00 pm local time on October 4th, USA, the general manager of the Rockets, Morey, updated his social media and made inappropriate remarks about Hong Kong. Subsequently, both CCTV Sports and Tencent announced that they would no longer broadcast games with Houston Rockets, and some China sponsors and business partners also announced that they would suspend their cooperation with Houston Rockets.

　　Gatorade and other brand sponsors’ activity sheds have stopped building. Photo by Yin Liqin

　　When China fans focused on crisis public relations, the NBA’s response disappointed them again. Adam Xiao Hua, president of NBA, who is attending activities in Japan, responded to Morey’s remarks about Hong Kong twice in a row and publicly supported Morey. Xiao Hua said, as a values-based organization, I want to make it clear that Morey’s ability to speak freely is supported by (us).

　　As soon as this statement came out, it was originally only a criticism against Morey and the Rockets, and it evolved into a question against the entire NBA league. Many netizens are angry. "This is the NBA’s disregard and provocation against China." "If the NBA official has this attitude, you can terminate the cooperation." Some fans pointed out sharply: "It took former NBA President Stern 30 years to enter the gate of China, but Morey closed it, and Xiao Hua added a lock three days later."

　　In 1989, david stern, the former president of NBA, waited in the wind for 40 minutes with a videotape before knocking on the door of CCTV. During the talks, he patiently explained to CCTV leaders what the NBA is, and even sent a free NBA video to Beijing every week. He also invited CCTV’s broadcast team to broadcast the Star Game and the finals live on his own. Because of this, the China market opened its arms and had a close relationship with the NBA.

　　Over the past 30 years, the NBA has undoubtedly become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the China market. Since Yao Ming joined the Rockets in 2002, the league has increased its audience by 370 million in nine years. The copyright price of NBA China has also been rising all the way, from 7 million yuan in 2010 to 1.5 billion dollars (about 10.7 billion yuan) in 2019 when Tencent won the exclusive rights of digital media.

　　Statistics show that the copyright revenue of NBA in China is equivalent to 11% of the local revenue. It can be said that in recent years, the NBA has made great strides in economic benefits, which cannot be separated from the support of China fans. The most beneficial team among them is probably the Houston Rockets, because many people pay attention to the NBA, starting with Yao Ming’s joining the Rockets.

　　With the continuous fermentation of events, many NBA-related activities were cancelled. According to the latest news, the night of NBA fans was cancelled. In addition, it also includes the opening of NBAStyle Zhengda Plaza Store, and the caring public welfare activities in front of the NBA China Tournament.

　　Even Lakers star James, who just arrived in Shanghai last night, got a "rest time" and didn’t attend Nike’s activities last night. A number of invited artists in China also announced their withdrawal from related activities.

　　It is reported that Xiao Hua arrived in Shanghai in the early morning of the 9th. He said earlier that he had "direct communication" with Yao Ming, President of chinese basketball association. Yao Ming is "very sad" and "very angry" at present, but he hopes to "finally reconcile" with Yao Ming. However, according to information obtained from NBA staff, Xiao Hua has not arranged any activities at present. (End)