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.”
Republicans Cline and Presler rally against Virginia redistricting vote
Pennsylvania man accused of stealing over 100 sets of human remains appears in court in ‘horror movie’ case
Survey finds nearly one-third of Long Island residents say Jews should ‘move on’ from the Holocaust
DOJ Reportedly Appealing Ruling That Limits Feds’ Ability to Use Notorious Spy Tool
Homeowner Uses Shovel to Defend His Pregnant Wife and Child from Would-Be Intruder
House Hearing Witnesses Reveal How Hardworking Families Pay Higher Taxes
California regulators kill charity fireworks for America’s 250th, sparking outrage
8 children dead in mass shooting that began as domestic dispute, police say
Christian in Egypt Faces Terrorism Charges for Simply Declaring His Faith in Jesus in Legal Docs: Report
MS NOW Host Melts Down Live on Air Over Ukraine ‘Whistleblower’ Being Referred for Prosecution
Feds arrest Iranian woman at LAX for allegedly brokering weapons sales for Islamic regime
Claims of Second Sphinx Buried Under Egypt Spark Debate
RFK Jr: LA Hospice Scams Cost US $5B
Video: Christians Slaughtered on Palm Sunday in Nigeria – Ex-Football Player Doing Everything He Can to Help Protect Them
Trump ally diGenova tapped to lead DOJ probe into Brennan over Russia probe origins
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.
Republicans Cline and Presler rally against Virginia redistricting vote
Pennsylvania man accused of stealing over 100 sets of human remains appears in court in ‘horror movie’ case
Survey finds nearly one-third of Long Island residents say Jews should ‘move on’ from the Holocaust
DOJ Reportedly Appealing Ruling That Limits Feds’ Ability to Use Notorious Spy Tool
Homeowner Uses Shovel to Defend His Pregnant Wife and Child from Would-Be Intruder
House Hearing Witnesses Reveal How Hardworking Families Pay Higher Taxes
California regulators kill charity fireworks for America’s 250th, sparking outrage
8 children dead in mass shooting that began as domestic dispute, police say
Christian in Egypt Faces Terrorism Charges for Simply Declaring His Faith in Jesus in Legal Docs: Report
MS NOW Host Melts Down Live on Air Over Ukraine ‘Whistleblower’ Being Referred for Prosecution
Feds arrest Iranian woman at LAX for allegedly brokering weapons sales for Islamic regime
Claims of Second Sphinx Buried Under Egypt Spark Debate
RFK Jr: LA Hospice Scams Cost US $5B
Video: Christians Slaughtered on Palm Sunday in Nigeria – Ex-Football Player Doing Everything He Can to Help Protect Them
Trump ally diGenova tapped to lead DOJ probe into Brennan over Russia probe origins
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.
