Political Firestorm: Congressman Demands NBA Review of Joe Tsai's League Position

A congressional committee chairman has called on the NBA to assess whether Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai should retain his ownership, following the U.S. government's recent designation of Alibaba, a company Tsai co-founded and chairs, as a "Chinese military company." Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Michigan), head of the House Select Committee on China, expressed his concerns to ESPN, highlighting the broader implications for the league's integrity and American interests.

This development comes after Moolenaar's committee, in June, urged Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards, WNBA's Mystics, and NHL's Capitals, to terminate his company's marketing partnership with Alibaba. The Pentagon had previously accused Alibaba of supporting China's military and defense industry, subsequently banning defense contracts with the company. Alibaba has vehemently disputed this characterization, filing a lawsuit against the Department of Defense to be removed from the U.S. blacklist. In its defense, Alibaba stated it is not a Chinese military company, nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy, emphasizing its independent board and products not designed for military use.

Moolenaar critically remarked on Tsai, a Canadian citizen born in Taiwan, stating that he has "to my knowledge zero allegiance to America beyond his financial agreements here." He framed the situation as a crucial moment for the NBA and its owners to decide if they wish to have an owner "actively working against American interests and helping the Chinese military." Both the NBA and Tsai declined to comment, though a Nets owner representative provided Alibaba's statement challenging the U.S. government's designation.

Regarding Leonsis's Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Moolenaar had specifically requested the termination of contracts with Alibaba and its affiliates. However, Monumental informed the committee that it would continue its relationship with Alibaba, a decision Moolenaar found "very disappointing." He accused Monumental of "enabling" the Chinese government's surveillance and military endeavors. Monumental Sports & Entertainment stated, "We have received and responded to the letter. We have no further comment at this time."

This scrutiny also revisits extensive reporting by ESPN in 2022 on Tsai's staunch defense of controversial Chinese policies. This included his justification of the government's crackdown on dissent as necessary for economic growth, and his support for a law used to imprison pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, which he deemed essential to quash separatism. Tsai also asserted that the majority of China's 1.4 billion citizens are content with their situation. The ESPN report additionally detailed Alibaba's partnerships with U.S.-blacklisted companies, which were implicated in a "campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention and high-tech surveillance" involving racial profiling.

The NBA, when questioned about its ties to China in 2022, declined interviews with Commissioner Adam Silver or Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum. At the time, an NBA spokesperson, Mike Bass, stated the league's belief that "exporting media rights of NBA games to fans in more than 200 countries and territories around the world, including China, is consistent with our mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball." Moolenaar concluded by asserting this is "a moment of reckoning as to what the NBA sees their role in terms of a market, but also accountability and their own reputation."