Major brands in China have dropped French football star Kylian Mbappe, saying he “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people” after a video circulated online in which he apparently joked about former leader Mao Zedong.
He is the latest in a string of global athletes to have faced public backlash and financial repercussions in China after commenting on politically sensitive topics. “Since I came to Taiwan, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation of this country. However, human rights campaigners and exiles have accused China of religious repression and cultural erosion through forced re-education. Tencent’s sports site pulled Celtics games from its livestream roster the day after his comments. Ozil tweeted in Turkish: “Korans are being burnt… Mosques are being shut down… Muslim schools are being banned… Religious scholars are being killed one by one… Brothers are forcefully being sent to camps. Rights groups and experts say that more than one million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities were incarcerated in Xinjiang and forced to integrate into Han Chinese culture. State broadcaster CCTV pulled a game between Arsenal and Manchester City from its programme, and Ozil was deleted from Chinese versions of the popular Pro Evolution Soccer mobile game.
Here are some high-profile cases: – Taiwan a ‘country’ – Eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard referred to Taiwan as a “country” when he appeared in a video in 2023 alongside Lai Ching-te, the self-ruled island’s then-vice president and future leader. This place makes me feel so much love,” Howard said. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league lost “hundreds of millions of dollars” over the row with China. The NBA returned to the lucrative China market in October 2025 with two pre-season games in Macau. – ‘Free Tibet’ – Enes Kanter Freedom, a former Boston Celtics centre in the NBA, declared in 2021 that “Tibet belongs to the Tibetan people”. Tibet has alternated over the centuries between independence and control by China, which claims it “peacefully liberated” the region in 1951 and brought infrastructure and education to the previously underdeveloped region. “I stand with my Tibetan brothers and sisters, and I support their calls for Freedom,” Kanter Freedom posted on social media, alongside a picture of sneakers adorned with Tibetan iconography and the slogan “Free Tibet”. He also called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator” in his post. When asked about Kanter Freedom’s post, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said: “His ridiculous allegation is not even worth refuting.” – Xinjiang crackdown – In 2019, then-Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil condemned China’s crackdown on Muslim minorities in Xinjiang and criticised Muslim countries for failing to speak up about alleged abuses. Arsenal distanced itself from Ozil’s comments, while China said his tweets were “untruthful” and that he was “deceived by fake news”. isk/dhw/pbt This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
After online outrage, he apologised in conversational-level Mandarin on Chinese social media platform Weibo. – Supporting Hong Kong’s freedom – China suspended sponsorship deals with the NBA and pulled its games from the state broadcaster for a year in October 2019, after Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey voiced support for Hong Kong during widespread pro-democracy protests in the city. He was playing for Taiwanese team the Taoyuan Leopards, having left the Los Angeles Lakers the previous year. The incident incited a furore on Chinese social media, with Howard later telling Taiwanese media he had not intended any harm. Beijing sees democratic Taiwan as part of its territory, and rages at any attempts to recognise the island as an independent nation. Chinese internet giant Tencent initially removed Houston Rockets games from its programming schedule, but later showed games as the row rumbled on.
US wrestling star-turned actor John Cena also called Taiwan a “country” in 2021 while promoting his movie “Fast & Furious 9”. Morey had tweeted “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong”. China portrayed the protesters as violent separatists and bristled at what it called “foreign interference”.
