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Wilson and Louisville Slugger now owned by Chinese firm Anta Sports

Anta Sports now controls both Wilson and Louisville Slugger, and Fox News flags the company's CCP ties as a national security and consumer concern; the bat is still wooden.

On air: Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock on BBN This Morning
Published 8:19 AM ET, Thursday, October 15, 2026

Photo: Nelson Kwok · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0

▶ As it aired · Sports

Watch it as it aired: Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock on this story, from BBN This Morning at 8:19 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Fox News's, the jokes are ours.

Photo: Wilson Sporting Goods — Photo: Nelson Kwok · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 2.0

At a glance

First reported by Fox News: “Two iconic American baseball equipment companies are now owned by a Chinese company associated with the CCP”.
Covered on BBN on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 8:19 AM ET on BBN This Morning, by Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock.
Topics: A'ja Wilson, Chinese, American.
BBN covered this story before: AI bosses say they want to democratise their technology (October 14).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

Fox NewsTwo iconic American baseball equipment companies are now owned by a Chinese company associated with the CCP

What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorHere it is, the story we hinted at: Wilson and Louisville Slugger, two of baseball's most iconic American brands, are now controlled by Anta Sports, a Chinese company Fox News says has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo the bat that built the great American pastime now has a foreign owner, and the glove is in on it too.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe ball and the bat. Same owner.

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