Report: N.B.A.’s Academies in China Abused Athletes

The N.B.A. has been accused of helping run basketball academies in China where children were regularly abused by coaches and staff members at government-run facilities, according to a scathing ESPN report on Wednesday that put the league’s relationship with the authoritarian country once again in a harsh spotlight.

The report, published one day before the N.B.A. resumes a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, cited several league staffers who spoke on condition of anonymity. The staff members, according to ESPN, said that Chinese coaches physically struck players and that athletes...