Ex-NBA player, Guerschon Yabusele, who is now playing professional basketball in China was fined by the CBA this weekend for not looking at the Chinese flag during the national anthem before the game.
The 23-year-old 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 before the Nanjing Tongxi Monkey Kings' game against the Zhejiang Golden Bulls. Here is the response from Yabusele to the punishment:
"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 said in a statement cited byTMZ. "I will show my respect during the Chinese national anthem and keep my head up for now on, Love you guys.
China’s government has stepped up the promotion of patriotism under the president Xi Jinping, with legislation approved in 2017 to punish anyone who disrespects the national anthem with up to three years in prison.