Good to see there's at least one NBA player who puts human rights first: @EnesKanter! As for the rest, if you're going to claim ignorance or "stick to sports," that is your right. But if you open your mouth to defend a brutal regime, be prepared to defend those views, if you can.
I spent most of my life fighting at the chessboard & against dictatorship at the same time. It's not for everyone, and I don't like to pressure athletes for boycotts, etc. But if you openly side with authoritarians, you abandon the pretense of innocence & neutrality.
As happened with Russian corruption in Europe, US economic engagement with China has opened up the floodgates of Chinese influence without liberalizing their regime at all. US companies eagerly toe Beijing's line for cash, ignoring where this always leads.
"American companies cannot afford to lose the German market, no matter the inconvenience of personnel shifts."—Variety in May 1933, as the Nazi govt demanded Hollywood studios remove Jews from their German offices Censorship, too. Read Urwand's book, "The Collaboration."
