NFL owner says its better for American executives to avoid geopolitical issues: 'You have to respect the norms'
Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan waded into the firestorm between the NBA and China on Thursday and offered his own two cents when it came to navigating the geopolitical divide.
Khan, a Pakistan-American billionaire who also owns the English Premier League’s Fulham FC and pro wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling, said at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit that Americans absolutely have the right to speak out on societal issues in the U.S. but is unsure whether that applies to geopolitical issues like the relationship between Hong Kong and China.
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Shad Khan Owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars looks on before the start of a game against the Tennessee Titans at TIAA Bank Field on September 19, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
“As an American investor-owner, I went through something very similar in Catalan, Spain,” he said. “And I didn’t think, as an American, I should really be having an opinion on it, even though a lot of people wanted us to. I want to have an opinion in America, there’s a civic duty to engage and do the right thing, but having an opinion on sovereign matters in other countries, it’s for those people to decide.”
Khan is the owner of Flex-N-Gate which has seven plants in Spain, including four in the Catalan region.
He also explained that he has a factory in China and when it comes to political issues in the totalitarian communist country, he’s staying out of the muddied waters.
“I have a factory in China. And there are thousands of other people who have factories and operations in China, and they do very well. But you have to respect the norms,” he said.
He added: “I think players, and every human being, has a right to speak what their opinion is. There’s no issue as far as that goes, whether it’s NFL or anybody else. We are American citizens, we have a social, civic responsibility to be active in causes we believe in. But do we have that same responsibility to opine on sovereign matters in other countries? That’s the critical issue”
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Khan said he actively tries to avoid trying to get into political issues whether it’s with Fulham FC or the Jaguars playing in London. He said he tries to focus on non-controversial issues like youth health, youth education and programs to help the less fortunate.