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Chinese basketball star Zhou Qi refuses to play CBA season over contract dispute
- The 25-year-old to sit out Chinese Basketball Association season as he fails to seal free agency switch from Xinjiang Flying Tigers
- Club stance is that former Houston Rockets player should stay but star calls on Yao Ming-led CBA to protect athletes
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China basketball star Zhou Qi has said that he will not play in the upcoming Chinese Basketball Association season because of an ongoing contract dispute with his club, providing a headache for CBA chairman Yao Ming ahead of the new campaign.
The Xinjiang Flying Tigers player announced his decision on China’s Twitter-like Weibo on Sunday, just days before the August 31 deadline for player registration with the league.
Former NBA player Zhou believes that he should be a free agent after his contract expired this summer but having failed to negotiate his release from his club he has instead decided not to play.
“I announce I am quitting the whole season. I will persist in safeguarding the legitimate rights of players because that’s my responsibility as a player,” Zhou wrote.
“I hope what happened to me will spur the CBA league to set more reasonable standards and do a better job of protecting the legitimate rights of players.
“Meanwhile, I will submit supplementary materials to the Chinese Basketball Association as soon as possible. I expect the association to conduct a fair and just arbitration over the matter.”
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