had to backtrack because of pressure from a dictatorship?
It's not pressure from a dictatorship that's making them back down, it's pressure from a big potential customer. The dictatorship part is both incidental and irrelevant to the NBA.
It is not at all irrelevant. In a fair economy (one that American companies mostly operate in), Chinese businesses, citizens and broadcasters would judge the Tweet and come to conclusions on their own. The Chinese reaction is instead forced by an authoritarian regime and has no economic merit.
That's my point when I said "you are in the wrong market". If you need to self-censor to make a billion in China, please leave that Billion on the table.
It's not pressure from a dictatorship that's making them back down, it's pressure from a big potential customer. The dictatorship part is both incidental and irrelevant to the NBA.