WTA Shames NBA by Standing Up to China

CLAY: We talk a lot about things that are done wrong. And one of the things we try to do on this show is be happy warriors and also praise people who are doing good in the face, sometimes, of challenges. And I don’t know how many of you have paid any attention to what’s been going on in China as it pertains to a missing tennis star. And I may mispronounce her name I believe her name is Peng Shuai. She won a women’s French Open doubles title. Accused a prominent communist figure in the Chinese government of sexual assault and basically vanished. And then something interesting happened.

Unlike in the NBA, where when they spoke about, one of their general managers did, for Hong Kong freedom, and LeBron James and Adam Silver and all the people in positions of prominence in the NBA, Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich, all of them shut up and driveled and just bowed to the alter of Chinese dictatorship. Something interesting happened in the Women’s Tennis Association, Serena Williams and many other top tennis players, Naomi Osaka and Chris Evert, they all spoke out and said that this was unacceptable that she had vanished. And the leader of the WTA, he actually said that he was willing to risk hundreds of millions of dollars in Chinese contracts over being willing to stand up and speak truth to power. Amen. Power to the WTA.

And Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton has taken it a step further. And he says that Americans should boycott the Beijing Winter Games, which remember are going to take place in February. Let’s play cut 12 here. I love seeing sports figures not follow the NBA lead and finally standing up to Chinese dictators for their lies. Play cut 12.

SEN. TOM COTTON: If the Chinese Communist Party will take its own athletes and disappear them and then march them out in hostage videos like this, what will they do to our athletes? This is a regime committing genocide against its own people. We should not be doing anything to celebrate or honor China with these Olympics games.

CLAY: Amen, Buck. I know you’re not a huge sports fan, but doesn’t it make you feel a little better to see American athletes finally stand up to China as opposed to bowing down to them?

BUCK: Yeah, definitely not a huge Chinese Communist Party fan, that’s for damn sure. Yes, absolutely. And it’s nice that there are some people who understand that you can’t just, we’ve seen with celebrities in the social media era and athletes, celebrities, same thing, is they love to take stands that are just going to get them more acclaim and popularity.

CLAY: Amen.

BUCK: Right? They love to do things that cost them nothing. We have a term for this “virtue signaling”. This is trying to get more of what they already have under the pretense of being brave. With the make-believe hero position. And when you’re actually saying stuff about the Chinese Communist Party as an NBA player, when you’ll speak out against it, you are putting your money where your mouth is. You’re doing something that could have negative consequences and ramifications for you. And you know, we are in a very fortunate period right now. We’re not in a war in this country. Not in an actual conflict overseas.

The war on parents and everything that the DOJ may have is a different kind of war, but we’re not in a war. We’re in a period of peace. But the narrative of what China is doing internally and externally is something that everyone needs to be familiar with and understand where this is going because we are heading for, not necessarily armed conflict, but cultural, economic and political collision with China in ways that we need to be prepared for today.

CLAY: There’s no doubt. And sports can be an important signal in what we’re willing to accept. And so I think again when you’ve got LeBron James and Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich and Adam Silver, all these people in positions of prominence, that are bowing down to Chairman Xi. I want to make sure we lift up people like Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Chris Evert and many other people involved in the Women’s Tennis Association for actually being willing to stand up here, as well as Steve Simon who is in charge of the WTA. Props to those guys for fighting the right fight.