Stan Van Gundy is not buying the whole ordeal of how the NBA should also cut ties with China, given the nation's history of human rights abuses.
The former NBA coach-turned-TNT analyst responded to a commentary by the Orlando Sentinel's David Whitley, which called out the NBA's supposed hypocrisy regarding the matter.
The league has sent out a strong push to support the Black Lives Matter Movement since the resumption of the 2019-20 campaign at Disney World in Orlando, Florida last July 30.
However, some concerned parties have been calling out the NBA for turning a blind eye to China's own social atrocities and maintaining good relations with the country.
Stan Van Gundy addressed the matter on Twitter on Friday, claiming that attacking another country won't erase the United States' history of unfair treatment to minorities.
We committed genocide against Native Americans. We have enslaved, lynched, segregated and incarcerated blacks over 400 years. Women couldn’t vote for 140 years. Using abuses elsewhere to try to distract from our own poor record on human rights is dishonest https://t.co/3TyPJrbZPA
— Stan Van Gundy (@realStanVG) August 6, 2020
The title of David Whitley's commentary, meanwhile, is a reference to Laura Ingraham's “Shut Up and Dribble” remark to current Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James in 2018. The hard-hitting article accuses the NBA of making an exception for China, for fear of alienating their biggest Asian market.
Both parties have just begun to repair their fractured relations, following Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey's now-controversial tweet against China last October. Morey supported the democracy protests in Hong Kong, forcing the NBA to do damage control.
Moreover, the Orlando Sentinel article also described the NBA's movement as “the most privileged Black Lives Matter protest”.
The NBA, meanwhile, has been praised worldwide for its stance on the BLM and has been heralded as social justice warriors of this generation. While it's true that China's human rights abuses should not be overlooked, Van Gundy did make a valid point regarding the matter.
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