A French former NBA player has been fined by the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for not showing proper respect to the communist nation’s flag during the playing of their national anthem.
Guerschon Yabusele, a former Boston Celtic who plays for the CBA’s Nanjing Monkey Kings, bowed his head an did not look at the Chinese flag during the anthem. As a result, Yabusele was fined 10,000 Yuan ($1,400).
Guerschon Yabusele is fined by Chinese Basketball Association for ¥10k ($1.42k) for not saluting the Chinese national flag during the national anthem ahead of the game against Zhejiang Golden Bulls. It is a courtesy that one should comply with persuant to the league handbook. pic.twitter.com/8e9za2oLs5
— Titan Sports Plus (@titan_plus) December 7, 2019
“I have the same routine, I’ve been doing this my whole career and I wanted to apologize for the people that took it Personnal [sic] because it was not my point,” Yabusele told TMZ Sports. “I will show my respect during the Chinese national anthem and keep my head up for now on, Love you guys.”
China has reacted harshly to any outsiders who show perceived disrespect or do anything contrary to the communist nation’s stance on almost any issue. Most notably, China cracked down hard on the NBA after Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey expressed solidarity with Hong Kong protesters.
“Yabusele, 23, is a former first-round pick of the Boston Celtics. He played for Boston from 2017 to 2019. He appeared in 74 games and averaged 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds,” Fox News reports. “He split time between the Celtics and the organization’s G-League affiliate Maine Red Claws.”
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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