"Nobody cares about what's happening to the Uyghurs" – Golden State Warriors owner Chamath Palihapitiya sparks controversy as franchise tries to distance itself from his views
A minority owner of the Golden State Warriors franchise recently shared his views regarding the reported genocide and human rights violations of the Uyghurs in China. The Warriors organization then put out a statement addressing the controversial statement.
Chamath Palihapitiya, a partial owner of the Warriors and current CEO of Social Capital, was asked about his perspectives on international and domestic human rights during the "All-In" podcast. The topic was about the Uyghur Muslims in China, and Palihapitiya said he doesn't care about the issue because it doesn't personally affect him.
"Nobody cares about what's happening to the Uyghurs, OK?" Palihapitiya said. "You bring it up 'cause you really care, but ... the rest of us don't care. I'm telling you a very hard ugly truth. Of all the things I care about, yes, it is below my line."
The statement was not taken well by the sports community and society at large. An NBA team owner who says he doesn't care about genocide and violations of human rights isn't a good look for a franchise. The statement can hurt the sentiments of several communities and can affect how fans view the organization.
says he doesn’t care about the Uyghurs.Owner of the @warriors🏀 says he doesn’t care about the Uyghurs.
The conversation goes downhill from there.
@chamath…
- questions whether a genocide is actually happening
- says the CCP isn’t a dictatorship
- says the US is no better than the CCP https://t.co/qAwi7hUPvo
Palihapitiya said he didn't mean to say he doesn't care about the Uyghur Muslims. He said people do virtually nothing to affect the issue and the issue is not something everyone wakes up concerned about. He said he can't do anything about the situation while sitting in the United States. He said other people easily show sympathy but don't care because it doesn't personally change their lives.
He said:
"I'm not saying that what you believe is wrong. In fact, I think it's beautiful and wholeheartedly right. What I'm saying is, when everybody else tries to nod their head and agree with you in the moment, they are just morally virtue signalling in a luxury belief that they themselves don't exhibit, they don't make any changes towards and it's largely because they don't believe that this is an issue."
Regardless of Palihapitiya's intentions or what he meant by his statement, the Golden State Warriors distanced themselves from the situation.
Golden State Warriors issue press release dissociating themselves from partial owner Chamath Palihapitiya's statement
The Golden State Warriors are one of the NBA's most esteemed organizations. They were established in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors and have been one of the most valued franchises in the world for the past decade. They have one of the most diverse fanbases in the country, and they pride themselves on their home crowd.
The organization's statement dissociated itself from the issue in an attempt to avoid further controversy. The press release read:
"As a limited investor 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 organization sought to distance itself from the statement of a man who isn't involved in the team's daily operations. He is a partial owner and doesn't represent the Golden State Warriors' views, the franchise said.
Warriors statement re: Chamath Palihapitiya: https://t.co/zUl6i9sOve