S4658 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 3, 2020 The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without companies censor political viewpoints employ disturbing and familiar im- objection, it is so ordered. that they find objectionable. That was agery. COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT 2 years ago. It has only worsened in the According to the ESPN investiga- Mr. WICKER. Madam President, for 2 years since then. tion, one former league employee com- almost 25 years, the internet has grown These concerns come at a time when pared the atmosphere at the Xinjiang and thrived under the light-touch regu- tech companies wield unprecedented camp to ‘‘World War II Germany.’’ latory framework established by the power within our economy and our cul- An American coach, who worked at a Communications Decency Act. I hope ture at large, and no one can deny that. similar facility, described it as a we can continue that. I think some A bipartisan chorus of committee ‘‘sweat camp for athletes.’’ changes need to be made. members from the other body pointed Now, according to the investigation, Passed in 1996, the law that the Com- this out just last week. More and more almost immediately after the NBA munications Decency Act is a part of of our daily business is taking place launched this program back in 2016, helped create the internet. Section 230 online, and that trend is only accel- multiple coaches who were staffing the of that law gives broad liability protec- erating during the current pandemic. camps reported to high-ranking organi- tions to interactive computer services, As we near the 2020 election, Ameri- zation officials that they had witnessed such as Facebook, Twitter, and other cans have serious concerns about Chinese coaches beating and berating social media platforms. This provision whether online platforms will treat student athletes. Bear in mind that protects online platforms from being campaigns on both sides of the aisle these reports were made in 2016. They also reported that the Chinese Com- held liable for content posted by their fairly and equally. Those concerns are munist Party officials who were in users. warranted. I have those concerns. This is a unique protection for online Americans are right to be worried charge of the camp were denying stu- platforms, and not everyone in our about interference by politically ho- dents an education. In coming to this elite camp, they country enjoys those protections. For mogenous tech firms that hold unprec- were to receive both an education and example, newspapers do not enjoy this edented sway over our Nation’s polit- elevated sports training, but the re- important protection. But we have ical discourse. ports, going back to 2016, said the chil- done this for internet platforms. After 24 years, it is time for Congress dren were being abused, beaten, be- At the same time, section 230 of the to revisit section 230 of the Commu- rated, and denied the education. So Communications Decency Act allows nications Decency Act and start with why then did the NBA maintain these online platforms to censor content that refining—perhaps narrowing—the scope programs? of what counts as otherwise objection- they—the platforms—consider obscene, Money. lewd, harassing, along with several able content subject to censors. There Communist China plays host to an other categories, including the term may be other reforms that would be estimated $4 billion NBA market. They ‘‘otherwise objectionable.’’ better, but I think it is time for Con- say that China is basketball-obsessed, I am concerned that this term, ‘‘oth- gress and the committee that I chair to and NBA execs have used every avenue erwise objectionable,’’ is too broad and revisit this section of the law. they can to take advantage of that, ends up protecting online platforms Last week, the Commerce Sub- and they jealously protect these rela- when they remove content that they committee on Communications, Tech- tionships. simply disagree with or dislike or find nology, Innovation, and the Internet Last October, when Houston Rockets’ distasteful personally. convened a hearing to consider exactly General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted I fear section 230 has enabled big tech this issue, and it was a very good hear- in support of the Hong Kong Freedom companies to censor conservative views ing. As chairman of the Commerce Fighters, multiple league all-stars, and voices, and I am joined by a lot of Committee, I intend to pursue this stakeholders, and well-connected em- Americans in that view. As such, this matter thoroughly and evaluate what ployees lashed out in a panic—terrified provision has become a loophole for changes are needed to section 230. Con- of retaliation from Beijing. censoring free speech, and it risks ne- gress needs to ensure that the internet Team owner and Alibaba co-founder gating the values at the very heart of remains a forum for a ‘‘true diversity Joe Tsai not only sided with the Chi- our First Amendment. of political discourse’’ that promotes nese Communist Party as it retaliated In the last few years, reports of on- competition and innovation. against the entire league, but he char- line censorship of conservative view- I suggest the absence of a quorum. acterized the Hong Kong protesters as points have grown more frequent. In The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. leading a separatist movement. early 2018, for example, an undercover BOOZMAN). The clerk will call the roll. Their over-the-top reactions are report exposed Twitter for systemati- The senior assistant legislative clerk proof enough of how fragile the NBA’s cally ‘‘shadow banning’’ conservative proceeded to call the roll. relationship with China actually is and profiles—meaning users were blocked Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I who is really in control of this rela- from the platform without being noti- ask unanimous consent that the order tionship. The control is not with the fied. for the quorum call be rescinded. NBA. More recently, Google threatened to The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without In June, I sent a letter to the NBA, demonetize a conservative news site, objection, it is so ordered. expressing my concerns about the The Federalist, for not removing offen- CHINA training camps in Xinjiang and the sive content in their comment section. Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, league’s entanglement with the Chi- Based upon information I received, the last week, journalists at ESPN pub- nese Communist Party. In their re- comments may indeed have been derog- lished the results of a bombshell inves- sponse, they announced that they had atory and unacceptable. But what is tigation into human rights violations closed their facilities in the region and noteworthy is that Google’s threat to- at NBA training academies in China. that they had severed their ties to any ward the Federalist was hyperselective When you think about a basketball programs there. and a bit hypocritical. Google held the camp, you probably think of shooting The problem is that the ESPN report Federalist accountable for comments drills or running sprints, but these I referenced previously disputes that made by the Federalist readers, but camps look much different. The inves- assertion. I am reaching out for clari- Google does not want to be held re- tigation focused on training camps lo- fication on that matter, but in their re- sponsible for the posts or comments by cated in Xinjiang. This particular re- sponse, I hope NBA officials express users on Google’s platforms, including gion in western China has achieved a clarity regarding all—each and every YouTube—a double standard imposed certain level of notoriety in recent one—of their business relationships by Google itself. This selective scru- months for the horrific political vio- with China because the NBA and other tiny reveals what most Americans al- lence its government officials inflict on organizations that maintain close ties ready believe: that tech companies are the Uighur Muslim minority. So it is to the Chinese Communist Party be- politically biased. no surprise that the stories told by lieve that they are merely taking ad- According to a 2018 Pew study, 7 out trainers, coaches, and other NBA em- vantage of a growing consumer mar- of 10 Americans believed social media ployees who helped to run these camps ket—or that is what they say. To them,

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G03AU6.022 S03AUPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE August 3, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4659 it is the smart, savvy play. That is As I said, with what we know now ment with what has become one of the what they believe. In reality, what about the Belt and Road Initiative— most dangerous and powerful nations they are doing is giving the ball away. the digital Silk Road, its push in the on the planet. They are playing right into Beijing’s great power competition—it has now Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- hands, and those hands are controlled spent somewhere between $1 trillion sent to have printed in the RECORD the by the Chinese Communist Party. and $8 trillion around the globe. Some previously referenced article from Since 2013, the CCP has operated of these countries, like Djibouti, are ESPN, dated July 29, 2020. under a grand strategy to stretch its holding 80 percent of the debt in ex- There being no objection, the mate- influence across Europe, Africa, and change for locating a military post, for rial was ordered to be printed in the Asia. This strategy is known as—quite having a naval base, for building out RECORD, as follows: elegantly, they think—the Belt and its spy network globally. This is what [From ESPN.com, July 29, 2020] Road Initiative. It involves making it is up to. ESPN INVESTIGATION FINDS COACHES AT NBA interlinked investments over land and The low-interest loans China offers CHINA ACADEMIES COMPLAINED OF PLAYER sea, which has formed the beginnings leads these countries into ABUSE, LACK OF SCHOOLING of a modern day Silk Road. unsustainable debt burdens. Some (By Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada) The Chinese Communist Party uses countries’ overall debts to China are Long before an October tweet in support of energy and transportation infrastruc- well above 20 percent of their GDPs, Hong Kong protesters spotlighted the NBA’s complicated relationship with China, the ture development, as well as access to and many of these loan recipients exist investment capital and trade opportu- league faced complaints from its own em- on the brink of a debt crisis. When you ployees over human rights concerns inside nities, to force its way into the good get in a debt crisis—when your debt is an NBA youth-development program in that graces of comparatively poor and still- more than your income—what hap- country, an ESPN investigation has found. developing nations. pens? The person holding your debt American coaches at three NBA training I have seen this influence and its ef- does what? We know. The person owns academies in China told league officials their Chinese partners were physically abusing fects firsthand. Last year, I traveled to you. the Horn of Africa and spent some time young players and failing to provide school- In short, China has set a series of ing, even though commissioner Adam Silver in Djibouti—a country that welcomed ‘‘debt traps’’ for smaller, struggling China and the Belt and Road Initiative had said that education would be central to countries so they will just go tumbling the program, according to multiple sources investments with open arms. over the cliff. For China, everything is with direct knowledge of the complaints. China now holds somewhere in the going according to plan because that The NBA ran into myriad problems by neighborhood of 80 percent of that dependency translates to control over opening one of the academies in Xinjiang, a country’s national debt. This is 80 per- police state in western China where more key strategic positions all over the cent of its debt that is held by Com- than a million Uighur Muslims are now held globe. munist China. The government in in barbed-wire camps. American coaches Yet, pretty soon, if they are not care- Djibouti, in turn, agreed to accommo- were frequently harassed and surveilled in ful, organizations like the NBA, the date China’s first overseas military Xinjiang, the sources said. One American National Basketball Association, will coach was detained three times without outpost, grant access to a crucial sea be the ‘‘National Beijing Association.’’ cause; he and others were unable to obtain lane, and implement the Orwellian What is it doing? It is ignoring this. housing because of their status as foreigners. smart cities program. A former league employee compared the Now, I will tell you, if I asked you to Why is it ignoring it? Because it is con- atmosphere when he worked in Xinjiang to picture a modern day surveillance venient. Why is it convenient? The ‘‘World War II Germany.’’ state, the chances are the picture that profits look good. It is making money. In an interview with ESPN about its find- would pop into your head would come China is basketball-obsessed. Do we ings, NBA deputy commissioner and chief op- erating officer Mark Tatum, who oversees pretty close to being what is happening really think that makes it OK? I have to say that it is not OK. international operations, said the NBA is right now in Djibouti City. ‘‘reevaluating’’ and ‘‘considering other op- Yet the other thing I saw while in What the NBA is doing is ignoring horrific human rights abuses—abso- portunities’’ for the academy program, Djibouti was its vital strategic impor- which operates out of sports facilities run by tance to the United States. Our mili- lutely horrific. It is ignoring speech re- the Chinese government. Last week, the tary relationship is one that exists on pression. It is ignoring political vio- league acknowledged for the first time it had the frontlines of great power competi- lence. It is ignoring religious persecu- closed the Xinjiang academy, but, when tion, and it is essential to continue tion. It is doing it all in the name of pressed, Tatum declined to say whether American commitment to and invest- finding its next basketball superstar, human rights were a factor. and it remains willfully blind to the ‘‘We were somewhat humbled,’’ Tatum said ment in African partners like Djibouti. of the academy project in China. ‘‘One of the Wherever AFRICOM headquarters is manipulation tactics China uses to lessons that we’ve learned here is that we do located, we must not lose sight of the hide these abuses. need to have more direct oversight and the importance of resourcing the African Whether we are talking about debt ability to make staffing changes when appro- continent for great power competition. diplomacy or enthusiastic access to a priate.’’ This is the combatant command that willing market, all of it is offered up by In October, Houston Rockets general man- consistently proves it can ‘‘do the most the Chinese Communist Party as a dis- ager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of pro- democracy protesters led the Chinese gov- with the least,’’ and it is a front where traction. I have said repeatedly that the ernment to pull the NBA from state tele- we can play offense, not defense, vision, costing the league hundreds of mil- against two of our major adversaries— United States must take immediate lions of dollars. The controversy continues China and Russia. steps to unravel our relationships with to reverberate, as the NBA prepares to re- The way China does business makes China. The rapid and unnecessary sume play this week after a 41⁄2-month hiatus maintaining these relationships incred- spread of COVID–19, caused by the Chi- because of the coronavirus pandemic. China ibly important. The BRI functions be- nese Communist Party’s reckless atti- Central TV recently said it still won’t air hind a veil of secrecy to the tune of tude in the early days of the pandemic, NBA games, and U.S. lawmakers have raised somewhere between $1 trillion and $8 is proof enough of how dangerously questions about the league’s business ties to China. trillion in foreign investment. Now, vulnerable we are to the Chinese influ- The ESPN investigation, which began after think about this. China invests its dol- ence, but this unraveling cannot occur Morey’s tweet, sheds new light on the lucra- lars in the United States. Currently, if governments and organizations alike tive NBA-China relationship and the costs of China holds over $1.1 trillion in U.S. refuse to acknowledge what the Amer- doing business with a government that sup- debt. It does that because Congress has ican people know to be true, which is presses free expression and is accused of cul- the power of the purse, but Congress that we had a real chance to keep tural genocide. It illustrates the challenges seems to think: Print more money. We China in check, but we missed the op- of operating in a society with markedly dif- can issue some debt. We can afford it. ferent approaches to issues such as dis- portunity. cipline, education and security. The report- All the while, China is making money The only way that we can retake ing is based on interviews with several off of our debt. Then, with those prof- control of our interactions with Beijing former NBA employees with direct knowl- its, what is it doing? It is investing in is to retake control of our economy edge of the league’s activities in China, par- countries around the globe. and set our own parameters for engage- ticularly the player-development program.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G03AU6.024 S03AUPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE S4660 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 3, 2020 The program, launched in 2016, is part of see it as an expression of love and care, but structure and elite players, Tatum said. But the NBA’s strategy to develop local players I know it might be criticized by people living the arrangement put NBA activities under in a basketball-obsessed market that has outside of China,’’ said Jinming Zheng, an the direction of Chinese officials who se- made NBA China a $5 billion enterprise. assistant professor of sports management at lected the players and helped define the Most of the former employees spoke on the Northumbria University in England, who training. condition of anonymity because they feared grew up in mainland China and has written ‘‘We were basically working for the Chi- damaging their chances for future employ- extensively about the Chinese sports system. nese government,’’ one former coach said. ment. NBA officials asked current and ‘‘The older generation still sees it as an inte- After his work in the NBA-sponsored facil- former employees not to speak with ESPN gral part of training.’’ ity in Dongguan, the league hired Palmer to for this story. In an email to one former In 2012, the NBA hired Bruce Palmer to evaluate the academies. He concluded the coach, a public relations official added: work as technical director at a private bas- program was ‘‘fundamentally flawed.’’ Palm- ‘‘Please don’t mention that you have been ketball school in Dongguan in southern er said it not only put NBA employees under advised by the NBA not to respond.’’ China, a program that predated the acad- Chinese authority but also prevented the One American coach who worked for the emies. The school has a sponsorship agree- league from working with China’s most elite NBA in China described the project as ‘‘a ment that pays the NBA nearly $200,000 a players. sweat camp for athletes.’’ year and allows the school to bill itself as an In hindsight, Tatum said, the NBA might At least two coaches left their positions in ‘‘NBA Training Center.’’ have been ‘‘a little bit naive’’ to believe the response to what they believed was mistreat- Palmer spent five years in Dongguan and structure gave the league sufficient over- ment of young players. said he repeatedly warned Chinese coaches sight. One requested and received a transfer after not to hit, kick or throw balls at children. In Xinjiang, players lived in cramped dor- watching Chinese coaches strike teenage After one incident, he said he told a coach: mitories; the rooms were meant for two peo- players, three sources told ESPN. Another ‘‘You can’t do that to your kid, this is an ple, but a former coach said bunk beds were American coach left before the end of his NBA training center. If you really feel like used to put as many as eight to 10 athletes contract because he found the lack of edu- hitting a 14-year-old boy, and you think it’s in a room. Players trained two or three cation in the academies unconscionable: ‘‘I going to help him or make you feel better, times a day and had few extracurricular ac- couldn’t continue to show up every day, take him off campus, but not here, because tivities. NBA coaches and officials became looking at these kids and knowing they the NBA does not allow this.’’ concerned that although education had been would end up being taxi drivers,’’ he said. Palmer said the school’s headmaster told announced as a pillar of the academy pro- Not long after the academies opened, mul- him that hitting kids has ‘‘been proven to be gram, the sports bureaus did not provide for- tiple coaches complained about the physical effective as a teaching tool.’’ mal schooling. When the players—some as abuse and lack of schooling to Greg Stolt, The issue was so prevalent in the NBA young as 13—weren’t training, eating or the league’s vice president for international academies that coaches repeatedly asked sleeping, they were often left unsupervised. operations for NBA China, and to other NBA China officials, including Stolt, for di- One coach said league officials who visited league officials in China, the sources said. It rection on how to handle what they saw as China seemed to be caught off-guard when was unclear whether the information was physical abuse, according to three sources. they learned that players in the NBA acad- passed on to NBA officials in New York, they The coaches were told to file written reports emies did not attend school. said. The NBA declined to make Stolt avail- to the NBA office in Shanghai. One coach The NBA was able to work out an arrange- able for comment. said he encountered no more issues after fil- ment by which players at the academy in Two of the former NBA employees sepa- ing a report, but the others said the abuse Zhejiang would be educated at a local inter- rately told ESPN that coaches at the acad- continued. national school. But similar efforts in emies regularly speculated about whether ‘‘We weren’t responsible for the local Xinjiang and Shandong were unsuccessful. Silver had been informed about the prob- coaches, we didn’t have the authority,’’ Tatum said Chinese officials told the NBA lems. ‘‘I said, ‘If [Silver] shows up, we’re all Tatum said. ‘‘We don’t have oversight of the that players at the academies would take fired immediately,’ ’’ one of the coaches said. local coaches, of the academic programs or classes six days a week in subjects such as Tatum said the NBA received ‘‘a handful’’ the living conditions. It’s fair to say we were English, math and sports psychology. He of complaints that Chinese coaches had mis- less involved than we wanted to be.’’ said when NBA employees later raised ques- treated young players and immediately in- With a population four times the size of tions about whether the kids were in school, formed local authorities that the league had the U.S., China is an exploding market for the Chinese officials reassured them they ‘‘zero tolerance’’ for behavior that was the NBA. The league’s soaring revenues were were. ‘‘antithetical to our values.’’ Tatum said the propelled in part by the success of former But two former league employees said they incidents were not reported at the time to Rockets center Yao Ming, who retired in complained directly to Stolt, who’s based in league officials in New York, including him- 2011. Shanghai, that the players under their su- self or Silver. Tatum said the league sought advice from pervision were not in school. ‘‘I will tell you that the health and Yao and other experts in China on the devel- Within the past month, as the NBA pre- wellness of academy athletes and everyone opment of its academy program. He also said pared to resume play in Florida, it began to who participates in our program is of the ut- NBA China’s board of directors was briefed face new questions about its relationship most priority,’’ Tatum said. on the planning and placement of the three with China. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R– Tatum identified four separate incidents, academies, including Xinjiang, adding that Tenn., and Sen. Josh Hawley, R–Mo., sent though he said only one was formally re- ESPN holds a seat on the board. An ESPN separate letters to Silver questioning why ported in writing by an NBA employee. On spokesperson said the network ‘‘is a non-vot- the NBA is promoting social justice at home three of the occasions, the coaches reported ing board observer and owns a small stake’’ while ignoring China’s abuses. The letters witnessing or hearing about physical abuse. in NBA China, declining any further com- came shortly after China announced a new The fourth incident involved a player who ment. (Games are streamed in China by national security law in Hong Kong that suffered from heat exhaustion. internet giant Tencent, which also has a gives authorities sweeping powers to crack ‘‘We did everything that we could, given partnership with ESPN.) down on pro-Democracy protesters. Sen. Ted the limited oversight we had,’’ Tatum said. Launching the academies had a primary Cruz, R–Texas, also recently sparred on Three sources who worked for the NBA in goal for NBA bosses: ‘‘Find another Yao,’’ Twitter with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban China told ESPN the physical abuse by Chi- according to two of the former employees over China. nese coaches was much more prevalent than who spoke with ESPN. Hawley’s letter challenged the NBA for ex- the incidents Tatum identified. When Silver announced the plan to open cluding messages supporting human rights in The NBA brought in elite coaches and ath- three league-run academies in China in 2016, China among statements that players can letic trainers with experience in the G he said the goal was to train elite athletes wear on their jerseys. The approved mes- League and Division I basketball to work at ‘‘holistically.’’ sages are limited to social justice and the the academies. One former coach described ‘‘Top international prospects will benefit Black Lives Matter movement. watching a Chinese coach fire a ball into a from a complete approach to player develop- ‘‘Given the NBA’s troubled history of ex- young player’s face at point-blank range and ment that combines NBA quality coaching, cusing and apologizing for the brutal repres- then ‘‘kick him in the gut.’’ training and competition with academics sion of the Chinese Communist regime, these ‘‘Imagine you have a kid who’s 13, 14 years and personal development,’’ Silver said. omissions are striking,’’ Hawley wrote in the old, and you’ve got a grown coach who is 40 The league’s news release announcing the letter, which was sent to media members. years old hitting your kid,’’ the coach said. academies said, ‘‘The initiative will employ One recipient, ESPN reporter Adrian ‘‘We’re part of that. The NBA is part of a holistic, 360-degree approach to player de- Wojnarowski, replied with a profanity, which that.’’ velopment with focuses on education, leader- Hawley then tweeted out to his 235,000 fol- It is common for Chinese coaches to dis- ship, character development and life skills.’’ lowers. ESPN and Wojnarowski issued sepa- cipline players physically, according to sev- The NBA employees who spoke with ESPN rate apologies, and the reporter was sus- eral people with experience in player devel- said many of the league’s problems stemmed pended for two weeks without pay. opment in China. ‘‘For most of the older gen- from the decision to embed the academies in In Xinjiang, the NBA opened an academy eration, even my grandparents, they take government-run sports facilities. The facili- in a region notorious for human rights corporal punishment for granted and even ties gave the NBA access to existing infra- abuses.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A03AU6.001 S03AUPT1 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with SENATE August 3, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4661 In recent years, the Chinese government of the security restrictions, foreigners were here? We’re the NBA, there’s no reasons for has escalated its use of high-tech surveil- told they were not allowed to rent housing in us to be here.’’ lance, restricted freedom of movement and Xinjiang; most lived at local hotels. Mrs. BLACKBURN. I yield the floor. erected mass internment facilities, which Tatum said the league wasn’t aware any of I suggest the absence of a quorum. the government describes as vocational its employees had been detained or harassed The PRESIDING OFFICER. The training centers and critics describe as con- in Xinjiang. centration camps holding ethnic minorities, Most of the players who trained at the clerk will call the roll. particularly Uighur Muslims. The govern- NBA’s Xinjiang academy were Uighurs, but The senior assistant legislative clerk ment says the policy is necessary to combat it was unclear to league employees who proceeded to call the roll. terrorism. In September, the United States spoke with ESPN if any were impacted by Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, joined more than 30 countries in condemning the government crackdown. I ask unanimous consent that the order ‘‘China’s horrific campaign of repression’’ After returning from Xinjiang last fall, for the quorum call be rescinded. against the Uighurs. Reports of separatist vi- Corbin Loubert, a strength coach who joined The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without olence and Chinese government repression in the NBA after stints at the IMG Academy in objection, it is so ordered. Xinjiang go back decades. Florida and The Citadel, posted a CNN story Tatum said the NBA wasn’t aware of polit- on Twitter describing how the network’s re- NOMINATION OF MARK WESLEY MENEZES ical tensions or human rights issues in porters faced surveillance and intimidation Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I Xinjiang when it announced it was launching in Xinjiang. have come to the floor this afternoon the training academy there in 2016. ‘‘I spent the past year living in Xinjiang, to encourage Senators to support the In the spring of 2018, the U.S. began consid- and can confirm every word of this piece is nomination that is now pending before ering sanctions against China over human true,’’ Loubert tweeted. ‘‘One of the biggest us. This is for Mark Menezes to be the challenges was not only the discrimination rights concerns there, and the issue became Deputy Secretary of the Department of the subject of increasing media coverage and harassment I faced,’’ he added, ‘‘but within the United States. In August 2018, turning a blind eye to the discrimination and Energy. Slate published an article under the head- harassment that the Uyghur people around I have had plenty of opportunity to line: ‘‘Why is the NBA in Xinjiang? The me faced.’’ be working with Mr. Menezes, as he has league is running a training center in the Loubert declined several interview re- been with the Department of Energy middle of one of the world’s worst humani- quests from ESPN. for quite some time. tarian atrocities.’’ In a bipartisan letter to Silver last October He originally hails from Louisiana. Later, the NBA would receive criticism after Morey’s tweet, eight U.S. legislators— He earned his undergraduate and law including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D– from congressional leaders, but it never ad- degrees at Louisiana State University. dressed the concerns or said anything about N.Y., and Cruz—called for the NBA to ‘‘re- the status of the facility until last week. evaluate’’ the Xinjiang academy in response He has, as I mentioned, considerable Sometime shortly after Morey’s October to ‘‘a massive, government-run campaign of experience in the energy sector and tweet, the academy webpage was taken ethno-religious repression.’’ here on Capitol Hill. He previously down. Even though the NBA now says it had left served as chief counsel for energy and Pressed by ESPN, Tatum repeatedly avoid- Xinjiang in the spring of 2019, the league did environment on the House Energy and ed questions on whether the widespread not respond to the letter. The Xinjiang acad- Commerce Committee. So he has been human rights abuses in Xinjiang played a emy webpage disappeared soon after. around for a fair period of time. role in closing the academy, instead citing Last week, in response to Sen. Blackburn ‘‘many factors.’’ of Tennessee, the league wrote, ‘‘The NBA But more recently, for the past 3 ‘‘My job, our job is not to take a position has had no involvement with the Xinjiang years now, Mr. Menezes has served as on every single human rights violation, and basketball academy for more than a year, the Department’s Under Secretary of I’m not an expert in every human rights sit- and the relationship has been terminated.’’ Energy, and in that role, he has been uation or violation,’’ Tatum said. ‘‘I’ll tell John Pomfret, whose 2016 book, ‘‘The responsible for many programs that you what the NBA stands for: The values of Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom’’ help drive the innovation within the the NBA are about respect, are about inclu- covers the history of the U.S.-China relation- Department, including for renewable sion, are about diversity. That is what we ship, called the decision to put an academy energy, as well as nuclear energy. stand for.’’ in Xinjiang ‘‘a huge mistake’’ that made the Nury Turkel, a Uighur American activist NBA ‘‘party to a massive human rights vio- Mr. Menezes also helped create the who has been heavily involved in lobbying lation.’’ Department’s cybersecurity office, the U.S. government on Uighur rights, told ‘‘Shutting it down was probably the smart- which is dedicated to protecting our ESPN before the NBA said it had left est thing to do,’’ he said. ‘‘But you can clear- energy infrastructure from what has Xinjiang that he believed the league had ly understand from the NBA’s point of view become very sophisticated and near- been indirectly legitimizing ‘‘crimes against why they wouldn’t want to make an an- constant threats. humanity.’’ nouncement: Then you’re just rubbing Chi- As Members may recall, the Senate One former league employee who worked na’s nose in it. What would you say, ‘We’re confirmed Mr. Menezes to his current in China wondered how the NBA, which has leaving because of human rights concerns?’ been so progressive on issues around Black That’s worse than Morey’s tweet.’’ role by voice vote. I believe he has ex- Lives Matter and moved the 2017 All-Star Tatum said the league decided to end its celled as the Under Secretary of En- Game out of Charlotte, North Carolina, over involvement with the Xinjiang facility be- ergy. He has helped to set the policy di- a law requiring transgender people to use cause it ‘‘didn’t have the authority, or the rection of the Department. He has bathrooms corresponding to the sex listed on ability to take direct action against any of worked with many of us on issues that their birth certificates, could operate a these local coaches, and we ultimately con- are important to our States and to the training camp amid a Chinese government cluded that the program there was country as a whole. crackdown that also targeted NBA employ- unsalvageable.’’ I am also confident that Mr. Menezes ees. Tatum said the NBA informed its coaches ‘‘You can’t have it both ways,’’ the former in Xinjiang that the league planned to cease will be a great second-in-command for employee said. ‘‘. . .You can’t be over here operations, and coaches were then ‘‘moved Secretary Brouillette. We held Mr. in February promoting Black History Month out.’’ But when Tatum was told that mul- Menezes’s nomination hearing back on and be over in China, where they’re in reedu- tiple sources had told ESPN that the NBA May 20. This was our first hearing that cation camps and all the people that you’re never informed the coaches of its plans to we had held after several months lost partnering with are hitting kids.’’ close Xinjiang, Tatum said he wasn’t actu- due to the pandemic. Tatum said the NBA ‘‘has a long history ally sure what conversations had taken Mr. Menezes did, not surprisingly, and our values are about inclusion and re- place. spect and bridging cultural divides. That is Two sources disputed that the NBA had very, very well. He demonstrated his what we stand for and that is who we are as any plans to leave Xinjiang in the spring of knowledge of the issues; he showed us an organization. We do think that engage- 2019. One coach said the league was still that he understands what it takes to ment is the best way to bridge cultural di- seeking other coaches to move there well help lead the Department; and that en- vides, the best way to grow the game across into the summer and that the league’s state- abled us to report his nomination to borders.’’ ment to Blackburn was ‘‘completely inac- the full Senate with overwhelming bi- The repression in Xinjiang is aimed pri- curate.’’ partisan support. marily at Uighurs, but foreigners also have ‘‘They were still trying to get people to go So we are sitting here now—it has been harassed. One American coach said he out there,’’ the coach said. ‘‘It didn’t end be- was stopped by police three times in 10 cause [Tatum] said, ‘We’re gonna end this.’ ’’ been nearly a 2-month delay—and I am months. Once, he was taken to a station and ‘‘They probably finally said, ‘Why are we very pleased that we are about to vote held for more than two hours because he doing this?’ ’’ he continued. ‘‘Like we told on Mr. Menezes’s nomination. It is didn’t have his passport at the time. Because them from the start, ‘Why do we need to be really key. It is very important that

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