Outrage! FIBA Apologizes to Chinese Men's Basketball Team!

“Dear Chinese basketball fans, we sincerely apologize to the Chinese national team, Chinese fans, and the entire Chinese basketball community. The wording used in our post about the match result last night was inappropriate. The Chinese team's victory was earned through their own strength, hard work, and determination. The related content has been deleted or corrected across all platforms. We wish the Chinese team all the best in the remaining matches of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.”

FIBA sparked public outcry after its official social media used controversial terms like "sneaky win" to describe the Chinese men's basketball team's comeback victory over Japan. It subsequently issued formal apologies in Chinese and English, admitting the inappropriate wording and affirming that China's win stemmed from skill and effort.

The English word "sneaky" carries a derogatory meaning of "furtive" or "underhanded," interpreted as implying China's win was undeserved.

FIBA revised the copy after 6 hours to: "The Chinese men's basketball team came from behind in the second half to defeat Japan." Under public pressure, they finally issued the apology yesterday.

Judging from the Chinese and English versions, it appears to be a sincere apology.

In that game against Japan, we persevered under pressure and won fair and square, 5 against 8, with a clear conscience.

We don't wish to elaborate further on the referee issue.

Over the past couple of days, social media has been flooded with analyses; some creators have meticulously detailed every missed call and biased whistle...

Regarding the referee issues and the official wording, I'd like to extend the discussion to say:

1. Such mistakes can happen, but they often stem from deep-seated contempt.

2. It can all be summarized as Chinese basketball's "lack of voice internationally."

Why does the Chinese men's basketball team repeatedly face unfavorable calls in major tournaments, to the point where even CCTV commentators can't stand it?

Take the referees, for example.

Chinese referees have been absent from the officiating lists for two consecutive Olympic Games and the 2023 Basketball World Cup. FIBA's top-tier tournaments have long lacked Chinese representation among the officials.

Only a few referees like Sun Jian have participated in secondary events like the U19 World Cup.

Although referees symbolize fairness and justice, do they form cliques? Certainly.

Where there are people, there are politics.

If others exclude Chinese basketball referees, you don't even get a chance to speak up.

No matter how poorly Chinese football performs, we have Ma Ning officiating the Asian Cup final and serving as a fourth official during the World Cup... and he's on the candidate list for this year's World Cup main tournament referees.

Are Chinese basketball referees really that bad? Compared to those three from the other day, aren't they rather "clear-eyed and fair-minded"...

Beyond skill level, this also reflects our lack of communication and engagement.

Public relations efforts are still necessary; this can't be handled alone.

Regarding FIBA.

A series of measures introduced over the last decade or so, including rules for Olympic quota allocation and regulations on naturalized players... have not been favorable to Chinese basketball.

This differs from FIFA.

FIFA is desperate to get Chinese football into the World Cup.

At this rate, they might even consider giving a special invitation...

Why? The market!

I find the recent treatment of the Chinese men's basketball team hard to understand, or rather, deeply frustrating.

Just look at the sponsors for FIBA's major tournaments—how many are Chinese companies?

These "financial backers" cover every aspect from clothing, food, housing, to transportation... Yet, despite this, they dare to hurt Chinese fans' feelings like this.

From sideline sponsorships and brand support to fan traffic, how much of your revenue is propped up by Chinese enterprises? Yet, during and after games, even the most basic fair treatment isn't guaranteed.

It's useless for us ordinary fans to just stew in silent anger.

All we can say is: To forge iron, you need a strong hammer yourself.

FIBA's apology is merely a temporary gesture of propriety.

True respect always sides with the strong.

The weak have no voice; only the strong possess real power to speak.

This holds true both on and off the court, not just in basketball.

(The image below is unrelated to this article's content.)