Guerschon Yabusele has been doing the same thing for nearly his entire basketball career. When the national anthem plays before games, he bows his head and prays.
The former Boston Celtics draft pick was stunned to learn that his actions in China could have resulted in a hefty prison sentence. Anyone who has been watching China’s oppressive tactics, however, will not be surprised at all by this revelation.
The fine ended up being around $1400 but it could’ve been a lot worse. According to TMZ Sports, Yabusele received a stern warning and according to a newly passed law could lead to a jail sentence:
The 23-year-old French baller — who played 2 seasons with the Boston Celtics — was fined $1,400 and given a “serious warning” for not meeting the league’s requirements for anthem etiquette before the Nanjing Tongxi Monkey Kings’ game against the Zhejiang Golden Bulls.
Of course, showing any sort of disrespect to the national anthem has major consequences in China — a law was passed in 2017 that made it a crime, which carries a maximum 3-year jail sentence.
Apparently fearful of further punishment, Yabusele sought to make amends immediately. “I have the same routine, I’ve been doing this my whole career and I wanted to apologize for the people that took it personally because it was not my point,” he explained, before adding he will not make the same mistake again.
“I will show my respect during the Chinese national anthem and keep my head up for now on. Love you guys.”
It’s always good to show respect, but given the greater context surrounding the Chinese government’s attempts to brainwash people into bowing down to the government and the government only, this is just the latest in a disturbing trend.
This is why China cracks down against Christians and Muslims so strongly — much like King Herod did in the days of Jesus’ birth, the Chinese government fears someone else being the people’s King other than the communist government.
Pray for the people in China. May their faith be stronger than the oppressive arms of their authoritarian government.