NBA Player Rudy Gobert’s Response to China’s Genocide

  • October 3, 2020
Source: USA Today

CFU Press Release
For Immediate Release
October 2, 2020, 4:00 p.m. EST
Contact: [email protected]
www.campaignforuyghurs.org

Campaign for Uyghurs wishes to express our gratitude to Mr. Rudy Gobert, a player for the Utah Jazz, who participated in the solidarity campaign on October 1st. In a post on his Instagram stories, he shared the text “wrong is wrong” on a light blue background, part of an initiative by French politician Raphael Glucksmann to flood social media with the color of the flag of East Turkistan. This action coincided with the anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, a somber occasion for the many ethnic groups and individuals brutally oppressed by the Chinese regime. This social media post regarding the Uyghur genocide makes Mr. Gobert the first NBA player to speak out on the atrocities. In a world where it seems so many professional athletes and corporations are ruled by the dollar at the expense of their souls, it is refreshing to see an individual willing to speak up for what is right. It is distressing, however, that such statements are seemingly rare on the part of celebrities.

The NBA has previously used the excuse that it can’t involve itself in every human rights abuse. This response is invalid when we consider that the NBA is directly complicit in genocide. Mr. Gobert’s actions directly contrast with those of Lebron James, who criticized Daryl Morey, the Houston Rockets general manager, for speaking out on the Chinese regime’s brutal repression in Hong Kong. It’s clear that financial impacts are often a larger concern for players than using their platforms to stand for what is right.

Campaign for Uyghurs calls on the National Basketball Association to do the right thing and end the perpetual kowtowing to a genocidal regime. We also call on athletes and people of influence to use their platform to fight against the biggest human rights atrocity in the modern age. The draw of money and fame should not lead to moral compromises that lead to denial of the humanity of an entire ethnic group. Please follow the example of Rudy Gobert and be upstanders.

 

Picture of Jacob

Campaign for Uyghurs

Campaign for Uyghurs

We defend the human rights of Uyghur people and the free world by exposing and confronting the Chinese government's genocide, and empowering Uyghur women and youth in the diaspora.

Donate Now

READ MORE

Forced Labor, Coercive Land-Use Transfers, and Forced Assimilation in Xinjiang’s Agricultural Production
Located in the northwest of China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region boasts long hours of sunshine and ample water for irrigation — making the region geographically ideal for growing cotton. Cotton grown in Xinjiang, which has good coloration and long fiber, is favored in both domestic and foreign markets.
‘This Has Been Delayed For Too Long’
Source: RFA Rushan Abbas, a former broadcaster for RFA’s Uyghur Service and the director of the U.S.-based Campaign for Uighurs exile group, recently testified at the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in Washington about rights violations in northwest China’s
Uyghurs in Exile Launch Campaign Calling on China to Release Video of Missing Family Members
Source: RFA More than a dozen ethnic Uyghurs living in exile have called on China to release video of family members held in political “re-education camps” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) after Chinese state media published what it
Tough Curbs on Burials
Source: RFA HONG KONG—Ethnic minority Uyghurs from the far-west Chinese city of Urumqi say authorities attach strict conditions when they release the bodies of Uyghurs who die in custody. Hundreds of Uyghurs were detained as part of a broad crackdown
I’ve fought China’s slow-motion genocide of Uighur Muslims. Now, my family are victims.
Source: USA Today   The world is finally waking up to the ongoing and terrifying violations of human rights against the Uighurs — a Muslim minority in Northwest China. My own family is victim to these violations. As both an American citizen and
Remarks by Ambassador Sam Brownback at Taipei Religious Freedom Conference
Remarks by Ambassador Sam Brownback at Taipei Religious Freedom Conference March 11, 2019 I would like to thank President Tsai’s comments and her for taking the time to be here out of her busy schedule. I can’t help but just
On Capitol Hill, persecuted Muslims unite to protect religious minorities’ rights
(RNS) — More than 125 members of the minority Ahmadi Muslim sect spent Monday (April 1) on Capitol Hill advocating for international religious freedom causes — particularly lending their voices on behalf of beleaguered Uighur Muslims. As part of its
As Countries Seek Trade With China, Imprisoned Uyghur Community Has Become “Collateral Damage”
China’s top trade negotiator is traveling to Washington this week as tension over trade intensifies between the two nations. President Trump is threatening to impose a 25 percent tariff on nearly all Chinese imports after the U.S. accused China of

STAY
INFORMED

Add your name to our mailing list so we can keep you updated about upcoming events, speciality drives, new initiatives and more.