Breaking down China’s latest doping revelations

Following a documentary on German television last month, the world’s media reported on allegations about China’s doping history, prompting an official reaction from WADA. But how much of this is actually new, what will – or can – WADA do about the claims and what does this mean for China’s future sporting ambitions? 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Doping is a sensitive subject that inevitably involves a lot of innuendo and assumption. The following is intended to start a debate by asking some valid questions about China’s doping history, rather than unnecessarily casting aspersions, so please read with that caveat in mind!]

Prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, all the headlines focused on everything that was about to go wrong. From pollution and traffic to protests and censorship, the storylines were exactly what China had been hoping to avoid.

But then everyone was blown away by the extravagant Opening Ceremony and China never looked back. The country’s “coming out party on the world stage” was widely declared a success and China took the top honors with 51 golds – the first time any nation had passed the half century mark since the Soviets won 55 gold medals back in 1988.

But check the record books today and that’s not the total you will find.

Big trouble in China: how to manage a crisis

The UCLA incident last week was not the first time visiting teams have had problems while on tour in China. Here’s a look at what can happen when things go south and how teams should respond when trying to manage a crisis.

Earlier this year, reigning English Premier League champions Chelsea FC visited China for the first time in nine years, eager to make some commercial inroads in the world’s most populous market. Following a comprehensive 3-0 drubbing of Arsenal at Beijing’s Bird’s Nest stadium, you might think that Chelsea was set to take their global profile to another level.

You’d be wrong.

In the build-up to the game, little-known Brazilian winger Kenedy had made the mistake of posting two offensive messages on Instagram, the first insulting China in general, while the second poked fun at a sleeping security guard.

Football fans are pretty similar all over the world, so clearly they weren’t going to let Kenedy off the hook easily when he came on as a substitute for the final 20 minutes. The boos he received accounted for a large part of the next day’s headlines, with the story receiving mainstream coverage – including some very critical op-eds in Chinese media – with minimal coverage of the game itself.

LiAngelo Ball, UCLA teammates return home from China

China Sports Insider can exclusively reveal that LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill – the UCLA players detained for shoplifting in Hangzhou while on a trip to China – have been released and have now arrived back home in Los Angeles.

The three were arrested last week on Monday and, while they were initially released from police custody, they remained under effective house arrest at an upmarket hotel in Hangzhou – with the trio all staying in a the same room – until their release earlier this afternoon. 

Given that LiAngelo’s Dad, LaVar, and younger brother, LaMelo, were today hosting a pop-up shop for the family’s Big Baller Brand in Hong Kong, which was due to finish at 9pm China time – the exact time the teens’ flight was scheduled to depart from Shanghai – it’s unknown when the family would have received news of the release, given the tight turnaround of events.Various reports had claimed the trio might be facing up to TEN years in prison. While that was never likely to happen, an unscheduled three extra days in China (their teammates left on the weekend) has turned out to be a “best case scenario” for the boys. Other reports claimed, variously, that President Trump, Alibaba boss Jack Ma,  and co-founder Joe Tsai – who has just purchased 49% of the Brooklyn Nets – among others had been working behind the scenes to secure their release, but the result is the same: they’re have been released and are now back home.

Plenty of questions remain:

Will the players stay with UCLA (either with the team or at the university as a whole)?

10 questions on the Chinese sports industry

US-based sports marketing guru Joe Favorito reached out and asked me to do a Q&A for his site on various aspects of the Chinese sports industry. Given that his weekly industry newsletter is distributed to well over 30,000 people, I was more than happy to oblige. Joe published the results in two parts – here and here – which are reprinted below. 

Joe Favorito: How has the sports landscape in China changed the most over the past five years?

Mark Dreyer: There are two main drivers here: 1) Almost exactly three years ago, the Chinese government declared that sports would be an essential part of the economy, with the aim of building the country’s sports economy into the world’s largest – worth, they hope, $800 billion – by 2025. That has driven a huge amount of investment into the sports sector, as companies/individuals realize that investing in sports can be both politically and financially smart, and has seen increased targets for participation set by just about every sport from grassroots level up. Concurrently, there’s been a sea change in social acceptance of sports, especially among the growing middle class of some 300 million people, that sports can be beneficial for children instead of simply being a distraction from the all-important academic side. Those two factors have seen Chinese people getting involved in sports in record numbers across the board, making it a very exciting time to be involved in the industry.

JF: What is the biggest misconception the sports business world has about sport in China?

MD: Without a doubt, it has to be the numbers. Yes, China has close to 1.4 billion people and, yes, people are playing sports in record numbers, but that doesn’t mean 300 million people are about to take up your sport. The examples are everywhere: I could list about 20 European soccer clubs who claim they have close to 100 million fans in China, which means that the numbers are either very wrong or that the concept of what it is to be a “fan” is very, very different to the western notion. “If we can just get 1% of the population…” is a phrase that has inspired – and disappointed – countless executives across all sectors, not just sports, but the problem is, it’s not that easy to crack China. There are only certain sectors of the population to target – remember that close to half the country still live in rural areas, which are light years behind world-class cities like Beijing or Shanghai in terms of development. There are still a lot of people to go around, but every sport is targeting a similar demographic, so it’s still pretty competitive.

Who is Joseph Tsai and why is he buying into the Nets?

With the news that Alibaba vice chairman Joe Tsai is set to acquire a 49% stake in the Brooklyn Nets, here’s a closer look at the newest sports team owner on the block and his reasons for joining the NBA’s exclusive club. 

If you thought China was supposed to be cracking down on sports deals, it’s worth noting that Joe Tsai is not your average “Chinese” sports owner. Born in Taiwan, he went to boarding school in the US before studying at Yale. He’s now a Canadian citizen, which means that this deal won’t be subject to some of the same regulatory hurdles that have, for example, slowed the acquisition of European football clubs by Chinese investors in recent months. But most other “Chinese” buyers would be subject to this scrutiny, especially if they were looking to buy a NBA franchise that could be worth in the $2-3 billion range – far more than the majority of soccer clubs that Chinese investors have snapped up over the past couple of years.

This could change in the future as the regulatory landscape shifts once more, or if the government becomes less concerned about capital outflows, but that’s how it looks right now. Additionally, Tsai – whose fortune is currently estimated at more than $9 billion (just fractionally more than his future co-owner Mikhail Prokhorov) – likely has much of his wealth outside of China, since Alibaba is listed in the US (NYSE: BABA), so the outflow issue wouldn’t apply even if the other restrictions did.

So just who is Joe Tsai and why does he want an NBA team?

That boarding school referred to above is the prestigious Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, which in addition to producing some well-known names in the politics and business worlds – such as former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, former Honduran President Ricardo Maduro and former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney (who would have been one year behind Tsai) – also has a very strong sports tradition. Notable alumni include New York Knicks center Joakim Noah and New York Islanders prospect – and the anointed savior of Chinese ice hockey – Song Andong.

Sports stars are buying teams – even in China

Increasingly in the sports world, former – and even current – sports stars are taking ownership stakes in franchises. Could China be part of this growing trend? 

Google “David Beckham” these days and right below the tabloid stories about strife with Victoria will be links to his MLS franchise in Miami. Likewise, Derek Jeter, now that he has finally settled down, is out of the gossip pages and back into the sports headlines thanks to his 4% stake in – and CEO role with – the Miami Marlins.

There are plenty of other well known examples: Michael Jordan (majority owner of Charlotte Hornets), LeBron James (stake in Liverpool FC) , Shaquille O’Neal (stake in Sacramento Kings), Venus & Serena Williams (stake in Miami Dolphins).

And China has its own too – Yao Ming – who until very recently was the sole owner of the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). In 2009, Yao bought the team – with whom he won a championship in 2002 just weeks before going #1 in the NBA Draft – and rescued them from financial peril, but had to divest his shares in the Sharks after becoming boss of the league earlier this year.

Now, news is circulating this week that another sports franchise in the country is about to be purchased by a major sporting star, and it’s likely that it won’t be the last.

Stephon Marbury buys arena football franchise – in China

Following on from yesterday’s post about the growing trend of athletes becoming sports team owners, it can now be revealed that Stephon Marbury has purchased the Beijing Lions, a cornerstone franchise of the fledgling China Arena Football League. 

For those who only remember Marbury from his NBA career, this might seem to come out of left field, but the two-time All Star has been living in Beijing for the past six years, winning three CBA championships while playing for the Beijing Ducks. Despite turning 40 earlier this year, he’s showing no signs of slowing down: after failing to agree an extension to his contract with the Ducks, Marbury has jumped to crosstown rivals the Beijing Fly Dragons to play out what he says will be his final season in the league.

What’s more, he announced last month that he’d also like one more shot in the NBA, presumably after finishing the CBA season in early 2018. He told the AP he had already spoke to a team, but hasn’t disclosed which one.

I’m making a #nba come back for the fans who want to see me play my last year as a pro. After… https://t.co/qstKMRI3FL

— I AM PEACE STAR (@StarburyMarbury) September 12, 2017

Why the Mavs have struck gold in China

In a marketing stroke of genius, the Dallas Mavericks are asking their Chinese fans to choose a new (Chinese) name for the team. Here’s why having a good Chinese name for your brand, product or even sport can be the crucial difference between standing out in the world’s largest market or going unnoticed. 

The NBA‘s Dallas Mavericks are searching for a new Chinese name after deciding that their previous one  “xiao niu” – literally “little cows” – has nothing to do with the team. Owner Mark Cuban announced the decision on September 11th via the team’s official Weibo account and asked for fans to send in their suggestions for a new name. But the Mavs have been so overwhelmed – reportedly receiving “tens of thousands” of new names – that they said on September 25 they would need more time to evaluate the suggestions and will announce the three finalists at a later date.

It’s a fantastic PR move that engages fans twice – 1) collecting name suggestions and 2) asking fans to vote on the final choices – over an extended period of time, especially since some fans say they think it’s not even really necessary because they like the current moniker. Moreover, it’s something that engages all NBA fans in China, not just Dallas fans, even if fans of other teams send in some less-than-serious suggestions.

But it’s also a smart move, because countless teams, brands and stars before them have been stuck with Chinese names not of their own choosing – and the ones that stick are not always the most complimentary. Let’s take a look at some of the ones that went wrong…

The problem with transliteration

Just what is going on at Alisports?

One canceled golf tournament might not, at first glance, seem like a huge deal, but a worrying trend of overreaching has dogged Alisports since its inception – and the cracks are starting to show. 

Imagine it’s October 2016 and you’re the LPGA. You’ve just signed a ten-year deal with Alisports, giving them ownership rights of your most important tournament in China. All the usual cliches spring to mind – growing the game, millions of new fans, next generation of golfers etc – and you’re feeling pretty pleased with yourselves. It’s Alibaba – they’re one of the biggest companies in China, they know China, Jack Ma is basically Steve Jobs, they’ve got trillions of users etc. What could go possibly wrong?

It turns out the answer is as simple as a piece of paper.

Just weeks ahead of the Alisports LPGA tournament, scheduled for October 5-8, the tour has had to scrap it because they were never granted the proper permit for the event. Just let that sink in for a minute: they had nearly a year to get approval for the tournament, but somehow still managed to mess it up.

The PR spin on this has taken several angles. Firstly, that the 19th Party Congress – the most important political event of China’s year, scheduled to start on October 19 – has thrown a spanner in the works by arriving slightly earlier than perhaps was expected. And while it’s true that China goes berserk for these events – CSL team Hangzhou Greentown was banished from town for an entire month around the time of the two-day G20 summit last year, and I’ve personally witnessed scissors being confiscated from offices ahead of an important parade in Beijing – the Shanghai Masters tennis is scheduled for October 7-15, while the NBA‘s Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves will face off in Shanghai on October 8.

Is La Liga really coming to China?

Real Madrid and Barcelona now appear to be closer than ever before to playing regular La Liga games in China – but just how soon could that become a reality, what obstacles still lie in the way and what sort of impact would that have on global sport? 

Javier Tebas may not be a household name in the wider football world, but the president of La Liga has certainly been making waves in the industry in recent days, particularly with reference to expanding the global appeal of his league.

In an interview last week with Murad Ahmed from the Financial Times, here’s what Tebas had to say:

“La Liga is global entertainment and we want to grow the international appeal of La Liga. As part of that effort we are discussing the option of playing some of the league matches outside of Spain. These discussions are still in early stages, but, as La Liga, we support the idea.”

In follow-up remarks, he added: