LeBron James called Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey uneducated and went off at-length about the “negative” side-effects of free speech, in reaction to Morey’s tweet of support to pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong.
On October 4th, Morey tweeted a message of support of Hong Kong’s demonstrators, saying: “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”
That message touched off a firestorm of controversy as China canceled minor league exhibition games and canceled numerous business deals with the Rockets, and the NBA. On Monday, Lakers forward LeBron James spoke publicly about the incident for the first time, and didn’t mince words while calling Morey out for a tweet that he says could have caused people to be physically “harmed.”
Ex-government officials pen letter blasting Kash Patel’s FBI ‘purge’
Greene calls Mark Levin a ‘raging psychopath’ after he claims she ‘abandoned’ district
Man’s Reaction to Being Ding Dong Ditched by Neighborhood Boy Lands Him in Handcuffs
What Are the Odds? NC Woman Pulls Off Stunning Lottery Feat
Zelenskyy thanks NATO, European leaders for backing his push to join Trump‑Putin summit
Hochul, once Cuomo’s second in command, identifies ‘areas of alignment’ with socialist Mamdani
Brave 9‑Year‑Old Girl Risks It All to Pull Mom From Pool During Shocking Attempted Drowning, Police Say
NATO chief says upcoming Trump-Putin meeting will be about ‘testing’ Russian leader
Summertime and the living is uneasy on Capitol Hill
Hochul insists New York ‘followed the rules’ on redistricting despite court throwing out map
A Hungry Bird Catches a Fish – and Accidentally Starts a Wildfire for the Ages
Dem, GOP reps defend Netanyahu Gaza plan following Israel trip
Baltimore police conducting homicide investigation after mass shooting victim dies from injuries
AOC campaign denies link to woman charged with ‘terroristic threat’ against school over Jewish students
Police Mourn Beloved Detective from A&E’s The First 48: ‘Thank You for Your Service’
LeBron says he believes Rockets GM Daryl Morey wasn’t educated when he spoke about Hong Kong and that his tweet could have hurt a lot of people, including financially pic.twitter.com/UMj71DPQH7
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 15, 2019
The NBA received tremendous bipartisan criticism for their initial response to Morey’s tweet, when they responded by calling the post “regrettable” for the offense that it caused. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver eventually tried to quell the backlash by championing Morey’s free speech rights.
Ex-government officials pen letter blasting Kash Patel’s FBI ‘purge’
Greene calls Mark Levin a ‘raging psychopath’ after he claims she ‘abandoned’ district
Man’s Reaction to Being Ding Dong Ditched by Neighborhood Boy Lands Him in Handcuffs
What Are the Odds? NC Woman Pulls Off Stunning Lottery Feat
Zelenskyy thanks NATO, European leaders for backing his push to join Trump‑Putin summit
Hochul, once Cuomo’s second in command, identifies ‘areas of alignment’ with socialist Mamdani
Brave 9‑Year‑Old Girl Risks It All to Pull Mom From Pool During Shocking Attempted Drowning, Police Say
NATO chief says upcoming Trump-Putin meeting will be about ‘testing’ Russian leader
Summertime and the living is uneasy on Capitol Hill
Hochul insists New York ‘followed the rules’ on redistricting despite court throwing out map
A Hungry Bird Catches a Fish – and Accidentally Starts a Wildfire for the Ages
Dem, GOP reps defend Netanyahu Gaza plan following Israel trip
Baltimore police conducting homicide investigation after mass shooting victim dies from injuries
AOC campaign denies link to woman charged with ‘terroristic threat’ against school over Jewish students
Police Mourn Beloved Detective from A&E’s The First 48: ‘Thank You for Your Service’
Now, with the league representatives and players back from their tumultuous trip to China, it seemed like the news cycle of the NBA-China rift had died down. However, with James denouncing free speech in even stronger terms than the NBA did while calling a pro-democracy tweet “uneducated,” it’s difficult to see the crisis going away.
It’s also difficult to see why James would so willingly and unnecessarily reignite the controversy.
Then again, perhaps it makes sense after all. James is still the best and most popular player in the league. Moreover, for nearly ten years he’s championed numerous social justice causes and launched numerous attacks against President Trump, all to the delight of the sports media.
Maybe he’s become so used to being applauded for speaking his mind, that he no longer recognizes when he shouldn’t?
Story cited here.
