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The NBA Can Beat China

If the offending tweet came from LeBron or Steph, the fight would already be over.

China is refusing to air pre-season NBA games played in China, after a Houston Rockets executive tweeted a message in support of Hong Kong protesters. Meanwhile, Beijing has been further frustrated by the latest episode of South Park. Image: Tingshu Wang/Reuters

If the National Basketball Association’s product is any good, and it is, the league should not worry about the sudden furor with its Chinese fans. Some controversies need to be quelled and some just need to be allowed to blow over. This is the latter.

Prompting the blowup was a tweet from a modestly-known executive of the Houston Rockets supporting Hong Kong protesters. Almost randomly do such supernovas emerge from one or two of the 200 billion tweets issued every year. It pays not to overreact. China will not win this battle...