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: Desperate Jake Tapper Begs Ambassador to Plead His Case to Trump and Let CNN Back Into Press Pool, Gets Rejected Live on Air
Police: Man ‘Intentionally’ Drove Into Closed Texas Grocery Store to Use the Restroom
US announces all forces withdrawn from Iraq after 12-year anti-ISIS mission
Senate hopeful’s ‘treading water’ narrative crumbles under $500K campaign payouts to family
Woke NFL Asks DHS to Remove Hall of Fame Defender from Clip of Agency Vowing to Stop Migrant Caravan
Inside the neighborhood living on the edge of America’s tech frontier
Watch: Lindsay Clancy’s Defense Team Screams at Black Media Member While Entering Courthouse for Retrial Hearing
Liberal stronghold set to adopt eye-popping minimum wage amid business exodus
US faces another major Middle East troop withdrawal, but threat remains
Republicans worry they’ve ‘glossed over’ voters’ affordability concerns
John McGuire touts his Trump endorsement as safe red seat suddenly looks shakier
Ohio cancer patient sues hospital after surgeon allegedly amputated wrong leg
Utah man released after decades on death row as DNA evidence excludes him from 1985 killing
Repeat offender with lengthy rap sheet accused of gunning down Kentucky trooper during traffic stop
Eric Schmitt defends perjury trap airball at Jack Smith hearing: ‘Not a mistake’
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: Desperate Jake Tapper Begs Ambassador to Plead His Case to Trump and Let CNN Back Into Press Pool, Gets Rejected Live on Air
Police: Man ‘Intentionally’ Drove Into Closed Texas Grocery Store to Use the Restroom
US announces all forces withdrawn from Iraq after 12-year anti-ISIS mission
Senate hopeful’s ‘treading water’ narrative crumbles under $500K campaign payouts to family
Woke NFL Asks DHS to Remove Hall of Fame Defender from Clip of Agency Vowing to Stop Migrant Caravan
Inside the neighborhood living on the edge of America’s tech frontier
Watch: Lindsay Clancy’s Defense Team Screams at Black Media Member While Entering Courthouse for Retrial Hearing
Liberal stronghold set to adopt eye-popping minimum wage amid business exodus
US faces another major Middle East troop withdrawal, but threat remains
Republicans worry they’ve ‘glossed over’ voters’ affordability concerns
John McGuire touts his Trump endorsement as safe red seat suddenly looks shakier
Ohio cancer patient sues hospital after surgeon allegedly amputated wrong leg
Utah man released after decades on death row as DNA evidence excludes him from 1985 killing
Repeat offender with lengthy rap sheet accused of gunning down Kentucky trooper during traffic stop
Eric Schmitt defends perjury trap airball at Jack Smith hearing: ‘Not a mistake’
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.
