STATEMENT: On the Racial Abuse Subjected to American Basketball Player Sonny Weems 

 Washington, DC – The Black China Caucus (“BCC”), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting, developing, advancing, and enhancing the presence and participation of Black  professionals who specialize on China, condemns the racial abuse subjected to American basketball player Sonny Weems by spectators during a recent Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) game. 

While disagreements and conflict can arise from the heat of sports competition, it is never acceptable to use racial slurs and abusive language in any circumstance. We appreciate the quick action taken by the CBA in reiterating its zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination but this incident is worrying. 

At a time when athletes from around the world are descending onto China for the Beijing Winter Olympics, we hope the upcoming global sports competition is a welcoming environment for all athletes, including Black athletes. 

We strongly urge the relevant sports bodies to use this unfortunate incident as an opportunity to affirm their values and strengthen the fight against racism and other forms of intolerance wherever they may fester.

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