China will begin airing NBA games in the country. Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

China lifts ban on showing NBA games, will broadcast Finals

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 10/9/20

It has been a year since China banned NBA games from its public airwaves in response to Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey expressing support for the people of Hong Kong. As of Friday, that ban is being lifted.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has announced that Game 5 of the NBA Finals will be shown on Friday night. Officials in China decided to lift that ban because of the way the NBA has assisted the nation during the coronavirus pandemic.

CCTV's refusal to show NBA games in the wake of a tweet on Oct. 4, 2019, by Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong lasted one year and one day

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 9, 2020

Morey infuriated China’s communist government officials last year when he showed support for protestors fighting for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong. That forced the NBA to tread the line between worrying about its financial situation and openly supporting communism, and many have criticized the league for doing a horrible job with that.

Some within the NBA community backed Morey, while others like LeBron James failed to live up to their social justice principles.You can see what LeBron had to say about the topic here.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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