Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons donated a basketball court to a town in China’s Guizhou Province last week and praised a prominent Chinese official who dismissed reports of persecution against Uyghur Muslims.
Simmons donated the court to Machang Town in the province, where the sport of basketball has taken off. According to Basket News, a basketball tournament in the province boasted 30,000 in attendance and scores more online.
In a press conference held at the opening of the court, Simmons thanked Huang Ping – who’s been the consul general of China’s New York Consulate since 2018.
“I’m very excited and happy to announce the court donation,” Simmons said. “Deep thanks to Ambassador Huang Ping and Guizhou government. I first visited China to play basketball when I was 16 years old, and then again as an NBA player. I always enjoyed visiting the people, and the fans are always so welcoming, and the love for basketball there is incredible.
The NBA has a huge presence in China but it came under the spotlight after former Houston Rockets tweeted a pro-Hong Kong statement in 2019.
Fox News’ Aaron Kliegman contributed to this report.
Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
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