This week Stephon Marbury and Tracy McGrady have both been making headlines in China for their criticism of the Chinese Basketball Association rules. However, their criticisms aren’t on the same subject and are completely unrelated in nature.
Marbury blasted the CBA publicly in China for the organizations strict sponsorship rules after he was fined for failing to cover up the 361 Degree Sports brand logo on his shoes, state media reported yesterday. The CBA has an exclusive sponsorship agreement with shoe company Li-Ning. Although the CBA can’t force players to wear the Li-Ning shoes, they do require players using other brands to cover up the logos somehow prior to games. Also, players choosing to wear brands outside of Li-Ning must pay a toll to the tune of $80K a season for the right.
Marbury, whose 361 Degree Sports line of basketball shoes is proving a hit in China, said it was “not right” that players were forced to wear footwear made by league sponsor Li Ning, or conceal the logo when wearing another brand.
“Every player has his right to wear what shoes are right for his feet to protect his body and wellbeing while playing on the court,” Marbury told the China Daily.
“It is not right that players can’t have a choice to wear what’s comfortable while playing at a high level. Safety is first and it’s my right.”
Marbury, who plays for the Beijing Ducks, was fined $3,210 for not covering his own 361 Degree sports brand on the opening week of the season but has since complied with the league’s rules.
While Marbury is permitted to wear his own brand of shoe, the sponsorship deal requires domestic players to wear Li Ning or pay $80,200 to wear other brands.(via)
While this has been going on former NBA Superstar Tracy McGrady of the Qingdao Eagles has slammed the Chinese Basketball Association this week for requiring players and coaches to take a “CBA League Rules Test” in order to play in the league.
Bai Xilin, an official from Chinese Basketball Association said on Monday, the CBA League Rules Test for Players and Coaches is designed to test their knowledge of the league’s rules. It consists of 25 questions that are true or false, and A or B, options.
McGrady said there is no need for the test as the content is so basic and every CBA player knows how to deal with the questions both on and off the court.
An anonymous CBA player who has taken the test also said most players can pass the test easily and players with little CBA experience also have no problems with it.
In response to McGrady, Bai said the CBA has some rules that are different than the National Basketball Association and the International Basketball Federation. He said McGrady should set an example for other players to learn the rules well and it would be helpful for him to play better in the CBA. (via)
So who do you think is right? Marbury? McGrady? or the CBA?
