One of the biggest sports stars on the planet, playing in one of the world’s biggest leagues for arguably one of the biggest brands in the world, was the subject of quite a bit of international attention this week. And no, it wasn’t an NFL star, team, nor brand…We’re talking about Kylian Mbappé from the Real Madrid soccer club and his joke about Mao that the Chinese Communist Party took as an affront.
When Mbappé, a Real Madrid forward and, by this year’s rankings, the second-best soccer player in the world, made an off-hand comment suggesting that Mao was a dictator, he learned in a hurry what can happen when you land on the wrong side of the CCP. The comments, which were more than benign, somehow led to the suspension of numerous brand deals in China, a ban on the broadcast of the Spanish soccer league’s games in the country, and then, in a ridiculous turn of events, apologies from both the player and the league.
Think this was just some CCP leader having a bad day? Think again. There is a long track record of the CCP attempting to whitewash history or hide its indiscretions. BLUF readers may remember a similar controversy involving the NBA back in 2019, when then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey dared to voice his support for protestors in Hong Kong leading to Chinese state TV pulling the league’s games off the air. But these are just two of the many heavy-handed examples of how the CCP uses its economic pull to pressure foreign companies and individuals into adhering to its political dogma.
As highlighted by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Select Committee on China, calling Mao Zedong a dictator is a historical fact, and one that is even documented inside communist doctrine. So why did Real Madrid, the NBA, or any other major economic global player give in to this type of reaction?
Let us use a different historical example to outline the answer to that question you may have already figured out but sometimes it helps to spell it out. During the Cold War, Hollywood and American cultural exports were awash with anti-Soviet opinion. It was clear the U.S. was in an ideological and political struggle with the USSR and our cultural exports reflected that. Movies like Red Dawn and Rocky IV are just two that come to mind from a pretty expansive catalogue.
Today, however, the levers of influence in our cultural media work differently. Back then, there was no Soviet audience for companies to placate, and no money to be made in the USSR. China and the CCP are a different story. Across film, TV, sports, you name it, licensing agreements to reach Chinese viewers are worth billions, and upsetting CCP monitors or taking a clear stance other than the party line means a massive unrealized financial opportunity.
As a result, very rarely, if ever, do you see China painted as an adversary in today’s popular culture. The enemies become nebulous, unnamed aggressors who may resemble our primary nation state adversary in the CCP without ever committing to it. And the result is that American culture may just be complicit in the CCP’s effort to change history and hide their atrocities. In fact, according to Pew Research Center, American’s opinions of China are becoming more positive all while the CCP continues its antics. All of this is to say, it remains our hope that more creatives, sports stars, and executives choose to stand up rather than back down when it comes to China’s attempts to police our speech and fictionalize the CCP’s control of China for the better.
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