Adam Silver can't explain away the NBA's cozy relationship with China

Were I a spokesman being asked a general question about my organization’s cozy relationship with a genocidal regime that uses concentration camps, rape, and forced abortions to persecute a religious and ethnic minority, I might refrain from opining about what does and does not constitute legitimate criticism of that regime. I might also, even if I rejected the idea that there was a moral imperative to boycott it, not be dismissive of those who do advocate such a course of action. Moreover, if I were a freshman hoping to pass an introductory international-relations course in the political-science department, I might refrain from relying solely on buzzwords and phrases such as “engagement is better than isolation.” What kind of engagement? And toward what ends? In a follow-up answer, Silver says he’s not “claiming that by virtue of televising NBA games in China lo and behold, there’ll be a reckoning in China to adopt a Western point of view about human rights.” But, he insists, “I do think that in order to bring about realistic change, we have to build relationships. At the end of the day we’re all human beings.” Again, that kind of answer would be better received while passing around a bong in the dorm, rather than as any kind of serious argument in the classroom or public sphere.