NBA in touch with Decathlon over China forced labor accusations

Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell, left, shoots as members of the Indiana Pacers defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Feb. 6, in Inglewood, Calif. AP-Yonhap

The NBA Friday said it “took very seriously its code of conduct” for companies marketing its licensed products and was speaking to French firm Decathlon over accusations it has benefited from forced labor in China.

Sports equipment retailer Decathlon, which has 1,700 stores in more than 70 countries, sells NBA-branded sweaters, t-shirts and trainers.

“More than 20 years ago, the NBA instituted a Licensee and Supplier Code of Conduct that all NBA licensees and their suppliers are required to follow to ensure their businesses are conducted in a socially responsible and ethical manner,” the National Basketball Association said.

“We take compliance with our Code of Conduct very seriously and are addressing the allegations regarding Decathlon with the company directly.”

Two French media outlets, Disclose and France 2, said in reports released Thursday that Decathlon had benefited from forced labour by China’s Uyghur minority, which rights groups say is the target of grave human rights abuses by the Beijing government.

Specifically, Decathlon has sourced textiles from the Qingdao Jifa Group, a garment manufacturer that, according to Disclose, until 2023 had a subsidiary that “relies on a network of forced labour in China.”

Decathlon said on Thursday it “firmly condemns all forms of forced labor.”

It confirmed it works with the Qingdao Jifa Group, and would “not hesitate to take action and all necessary measures should these claims turn out to be correct.”

Decathlon told AFP it did not sell any products made in China in the United States.

U.S. Congress in 2021 voted to ban the import of all goods from the Xinjiang region unless companies offer verifiable proof that production did not involve forced labor.

The National Basketball Association is set to return to China for the first time in six years in October, with two pre-season games in Macau between the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.

No NBA games have been held in China since two pre-season contests in 2019 after a tweet from then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey in support of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. (AFP)