The Boston Celtics versus New York Knicks highlights were scrapped on the Tencent Sports app after Celtics center Enes Kanter tweeted a video supporting Tibet and calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator.”
The upcoming games of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Celtics were also unavailable for live stream.
The said Twitter video featured Kanter wearing a Dalai Lama t-shirt while expressing support for the Tibetan people’s “cause for freedom” and thrice saying “free Tibet.”
Kanter added that under China's brutal rule, Tibetans' basic rights and freedoms are non-existent.
China has denounced the current Dalai Lama, the Buddhists' spiritual leader, as a separatist.
The Dalai Lama, who is currently in exile in India, has denied he is a separatist.
On Weibo, a Twitter-like service, a Boston Celtics fan account with 615,000 followers said they would stop posting about the team.
The NBA, the most popular US sports league in China, has previously faced backlash in 2019 when then-Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
While Morey later apologized, the incident still caused a major fallout, including the suspension of Rockets games broadcasts and commercial partners cutting ties. The NBA could once again face a backlash in China due to the Kanter incident.


Los Angeles World Cup Security Plans: No ICE Immigration Enforcement at FIFA 2026 Matches, Officials Say
New Zealand Labour Backs Social Media Ban for Under-16s
Woodside Drops $5 Billion Clean Energy Plan as Profit Rises 7%
Native American Groups Slam Trump’s Call to Restore Redskins Name
J.P. Morgan Upgrades Diploma, Lifts Price Target to 8,250p
US Removes Syria From Terrorism Sponsor List
US Seizes Nearly 400 Illegal World Cup Streaming Domains in Global Anti-Piracy Crackdown
Luxshare Shares Rise as First-Half Profit Jumps 18%
Tesla Raises Cybertruck Prices by $5,000 in US
Israeli Strikes Kill Two in Gaza as Tensions Rise
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum Reconsiders Early School Closure Plan Ahead of 2026 World Cup
TikTok, DOJ Reach $400 Million Children’s Privacy Settlement
FIFA Suspends Balogun Ban, Clears U.S. Striker for Belgium World Cup Clash
Raphael Glucksmann Launches 2027 French Presidential Bid
Merz Pushes Faster Reforms to Revive German Economy
US Cancels South Korea Military Drill Amid Iran War
FAA to Pause Reagan National Airport Flights for Freedom 250 IndyCar Race 



