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.”
WATCH: Booker continues to reject SAVE Act despite bombshell NJ voter roll scandal
WATCH: Democrats admit when they’d eliminate the filibuster as SAVE Act fight heats up
Mamdani not called to speak at NYC funeral of Army sergeant killed in Iranian attack: report
Police search for gunman after Walmart employee shot during dispute in Pennsylvania
CBS Announces Replacement for Tony Romo After Arrest
Watch: African Who Invaded Spanish City Has Chilling Warning to the Rest of Europe
Former Latvian ‘Dancing with the Stars’ contestant arrested by ICE after violent criminal history revealed
18-Year-Old Woman Murdered in House Owned by Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s Husband
Hunter Biden Targets Donald Trump’s Grandchildren in Vulgar Rant
ICE lodges detainer on Salvadoran national, 18, accused of 2 fatal shootings in Houston
Socialist frontrunner in the hot seat after ‘Cancel Thanksgiving’ post emerges online
Breaking: Trump to Order Attack on Iran Aimed at Forcing Tehran’s Surrender
OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney strikes murder-case plea deal in boyfriend’s stabbing death
Trump warns Iran fighting isn’t over as he vows US will ‘win’ as talks fade
Mangione lawyers say media limits at murder trial are unconstitutional, fear court will ‘hand-pick’ press
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.
WATCH: Booker continues to reject SAVE Act despite bombshell NJ voter roll scandal
WATCH: Democrats admit when they’d eliminate the filibuster as SAVE Act fight heats up
Mamdani not called to speak at NYC funeral of Army sergeant killed in Iranian attack: report
Police search for gunman after Walmart employee shot during dispute in Pennsylvania
CBS Announces Replacement for Tony Romo After Arrest
Watch: African Who Invaded Spanish City Has Chilling Warning to the Rest of Europe
Former Latvian ‘Dancing with the Stars’ contestant arrested by ICE after violent criminal history revealed
18-Year-Old Woman Murdered in House Owned by Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s Husband
Hunter Biden Targets Donald Trump’s Grandchildren in Vulgar Rant
ICE lodges detainer on Salvadoran national, 18, accused of 2 fatal shootings in Houston
Socialist frontrunner in the hot seat after ‘Cancel Thanksgiving’ post emerges online
Breaking: Trump to Order Attack on Iran Aimed at Forcing Tehran’s Surrender
OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney strikes murder-case plea deal in boyfriend’s stabbing death
Trump warns Iran fighting isn’t over as he vows US will ‘win’ as talks fade
Mangione lawyers say media limits at murder trial are unconstitutional, fear court will ‘hand-pick’ press
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.
