Abstract:
Abstract: Yao Ming, a Chinese basketball superstar and the top pick in the 2002
NBA draft, became just the third player from China to play professionally in the United
States. His departure, however, was met with reluctance by the Chinese basketball
bureaucracy and came at a high price: he had to agree to remit more than half of his
salary to Chinese government agencies and return to play for the Chinese National Team
in certain competitions. While Yao's release demonstrates willingness by the Chinese
government to participate in an increasingly globalized sports world, it also highlights the
growing pains of a Chinese political system still dominated by the ideology of state
control over its citizens. With the potential for more Chinese players in the NBA, China
stands at the doorstep of true basketball globalization. Instead of continuing to work
within the Chinese framework and sending the message that these burdensome policies
are tolerable, the NBA should attempt to work with the Chinese government to reform
the way it handles Chinese players. By crafting a bilateral agreement to facilitate the
uninhibited transfer of Chinese basketball players, the NBA and China can gain longterm
economic, competitive, and human rights benefits. In the end, such an agreement
would promote the dual goals of developing international basketball and giving Chinese
players the freedom to play basketball anywhere they choose.
