The NBA’s Golden State Warriors are refusing to support minority owner Chamath Palihapitiya after the 45-year-old billionaire said recently that ‘nobody cares’ about China’s human rights violations against the country’s minority Uyghur population.
‘As a limited investor Brindes Personalizados who has no day-to-day operating functions with the Warriors, Mr.
Palihapitiya does not speak on behalf of our franchise, and his views certainly don’t reflect those of our organization,’ the team said in a statement Tuesday.
Palihapitiya, who is worth $1.2billion and owns a minority stake in the ‘s Golden State Warriors, worked at Facebook before his departure in 2011 to set up his venture capital fund, Social Capital, which made $1.7billion in 2019.
But the Sri Lankan-born investor is now coming under fire for stating bluntly how he does not care how ‘s Uyghur Muslims have been abused.
His subsequent apology on Twitter was also roundly attacked after with critics deeming it mealy-mouthed.
The Golden State Warriors also distanced themselves from Palihapitiya in a statement which didn’t mention the Uyghurs.
That sparked yet more criticism that the NBA is concerned about kowtowing to China rather than standing up to human rights’ abuses.
Human Rights Watch estimates that Chinese authorities have detained as many as one million Uyghur Muslims in ‘re-education’ camps where they have been subjected to human-rights abuses including slave labor, rape and forced sterilizations.
Palihapitiya – whose firm Social Capital channels some of its investments into healthcare projects – made the comments while speaking on an episode of his technology podcast, All-In.
‘Nobody cares about it, nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs,’ the Silicon Valley billionaire said.
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom, an outspoken advocate for Uyghurs and a major critic of China’s government in Beijing, immediately attacked Palihapitiya for his comments.
‘When @NBA says we stand for justice, don’t forget there are those who sell their soul for money & business like [Palihapitiya] the owner of @warriors, who says ”Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs,”’ Freedom tweeted. ‘When genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen.’
‘Shame!’
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The San Francisco basketball team, of which Palihapitiya owns 10 percent having invested $25 million in 2010, issued their own statement in response to their co-owner’s comments
Silicon Valley billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya has said he doesn’t care about China’s human rights abuses of Uyghur Muslims in the country
Chamath Palihapitiya (center) attends a Golden State Warriors game with wife Brigette Lau and friends in April 2016.
He is said to own around 10 percent of the team
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom, an outspoken human rights advocate, immediately attacked Palihapitiya for his comments: ‘When @NBA says we stand for justice, don’t forget there are those who sell their soul for money & business like [Palihapitiya] the owner of @warriors, who says ”Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs…
When genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen. Shame!’
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS news" data-version="2" id="mol-ac8194e0-7846-11ec-a0f7-ff5a04dc3338" website Palihapitiya slammed for cowardly statement on Uyghur Muslims