Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban became combative with Megyn Kelly during a podcast Monday after she pressed the billionaire businessman to condemn ethnic cleansing in China.
The NBA has come under fire over the past couple of years for ignoring a common practice in China that consists of the killing of members of unwanted ethnic or religious groups. “”The question remains, why won’t you and the NBA explicitly condemn that?” Kelly asked Cuban.
Cuban told Kelly that he places a priority on “domestic issues” eventually saying that he is against “human rights violations around the world.”
The NBA has been expanding internationally for many years. It is estimated that China generates $500 million dollars in revenue annually for the league. Part of that revenue includes the Chinese technology giant, Tencent’s $1.5 billion deal to be the NBA’s exclusive digital partner.
Cuban claimed that he was OK doing business with China and that the league would have to pick its battles. “”They are a customer of ours, and guess what, Megyn? I’m OK with doing business with China.”
China’s government pulled Houston Rockets merchandise off its shelves and removed some NBA games from state TV after the team’s general manager tweeted support for Hong Kong. The league immediately released a statement calling the tweet “regrettable”
Cuban also deflected questions about the league’s ratings saying that he did not believe the low numbers produced in the bubble had anything to do with politics. “I just think we don’t have the match-up and the storylines, and we didn’t do a good job promoting it,” he said.
Ratings hit all-time lows with just 5.7 million viewers tuning into Game 5 between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat.
