The China’s National Basketball Association is attempting to block the move of former Chinese women’s youth team member Li Mingyang to the Japanese national team.
The situation surrounding Li, who has since gained Japanese citizenship after heading to the country in 2010, has caused concern and plenty of controversy in China.
According to Chinese basketball officials, who held a press conference in Beijing on Monday, Li took a sick leave from her former club Beijing Shougang in October 2010, following which the club lost contact with her.
Later one of her teammates confirmed that Li had been hired by a Japanese club without informing her former Beijing team, who owned her pro rights.
According to the CBA, an official letter was sent to the Japan Basketball Association asking for help in finding the player, with the Japanese assocation declaring they had no registration information for Li.
The CBA reported the incident to FIBA in 2012, leading to International basketball’s governing body ruling that Li can register to play for a Japanese club but the Japanese side has to pay fines to the CBA.
Born in 1994, Li Mingyang received most of her training in Beijing Shougang, a center with good athleticism. Li represented China at the 2010 FIBA U-17 World Championship in France, helping the team win bronze in the tournament.
Duan Lian, Director of the National Teams Management Office, said, "We believe what the Japanese side did was very inappropriate. It severely affects the order of sports. We will continue to negotiate the issue with FIBA. The Chinese Basketball Association will improve our player registration system.
"We hope our clubs can strengthen their management of player contracts and better defend their interests. We would also like to warn our clubs to be on high alert about foreign agents grabbing our talents through abnormal channels."
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