TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A video showing California Governor Gavin Newsom knocking over a Chinese elementary school student during a basketball game has gone viral.
On Friday (Oct. 27), Newsom went to Beijing YuYing School and played basketball with students, reported Business Insider. In a video of the incident, Newsom starts with two failed attempts at spinning a basketball on his finger.
He dribbles the ball behind his back, makes a spin move, and tries to dribble to the left, but loses his footing in his dress shoes on the smooth court surface. The governor's momentum continues to carry him to his left, sliding down the court.
A student who had been standing to his left found himself directly in Newsom's path. He then falls onto his side and takes the boy down with him. When Newsom lands on the ground he pats the pupil on the back, begins to playfully wrestle with him, and says, "I got you."
The governor's visit to Beijing is part of a weeklong tour of China, in which he is seeking to cooperate on curbing climate change.
However, in Taiwan, he has drawn ire for telling Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) that he supported the "one-China" policy as well as "our desire not see (Taiwan) independence," per AP.
Newsom's attempt at basketball drew comparisons to former London Mayor Boris Johnson's collision with a 10-year-old Japanese boy while playing rugby in Tokyo, Japan in 2015.
Dribble charging!
Gavin Newsom,The governor of California is in a primary school in Beijing. pic.twitter.com/NgJf9GRK5E
— Sharing Travel (@TripInChina) October 29, 2023
