NBA to Allow ‘Free Hong Kong’ Messages on Jerseys After Backlash

The NBA has done a U-turn and decided to allow the purchase of custom jerseys with the “Free Hong Kong” slogan on them.

On Monday, customers attempting to purchase a custom NBA jersey with “Free Hong Kong” printed on it, but found the request forbidden.

Social media exploded with reports that the NBA’s official store allowed all sorts of Black Lives Matter, anti-Semitic, anti-cop, and anti-American slogans on shirts but not the phrase “Free Hong Kong.”

“The NBA bans you, the fan, from putting #freehongkong on customized league jerseys even as they allow players to wear customized jerseys,” Clay Travis tweeted Monday.

The NBA bans you, the fan, from putting #freehongkong on customized league jerseys even as they allow players to wear customized jerseys. https://t.co/px9enQa1qk

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 13, 2020

The NBA store even reportedly allowed “Kill Cops,” and “Burn Jews,” but not “free Hong Kong.”

Oh. “@NBA Bans Custom 'Free Hong Kong' Jerseys, Allows 'Burn Jews' And 'Kill Cops'” https://t.co/nzV8BqDbdw

— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) July 14, 2020

As the Washington Free Beacon reported, a litany of hate-filled phrases were allowed, including F*ck Hong Kong, Defund the Police, Beware of Jews, Kill the Police, Cancel Israel, Trump has AIDs, Uyghurs Lie, and a long list of other hateful slogans.

Ultimately, after the embarrassing exposes on social media, the NBA relented and changed its anti-Hong Kong policy, the Daily caller reported.

The league said the Free Hong Kong slogans were “inadvertently prohibited.”

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