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.”
Trump’s ‘war on fraud’ draws range of reactions during SOTU speech
Former top Harris adviser ignites backlash over ‘political props’ comment targeting USA men’s hockey team
The Laundering of Iran’s Atrocities: How Western Voices Became a Shield for the Islamic Republic’s Mass Killings
Karoline Leavitt Drops List of Policies Dems Wouldn’t Stand For, Including Voter ID and Fewer Murders
Sen. Chuck Schumer Defends Democrats’ Decision to Sit During SOTU, After Trump Invited Them to Stand if They Support Americans Over Illegals
Ohio courtroom devolves into chaos after sentencing in death of teen
Fact-checkers challenge Trump’s ‘eight wars’ claim, back him on crime
Democrats’ big misfire at State of the Union has GOP strategists salivating: ‘Huge moment’
Child predator dubbed ‘monster parents fear most’ cleared for release through California parole program
Trump calls for ‘deranged’ Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to be ‘institutionalized’ after State of the Union
Border-State Sen. Mark Kelly is Feeling the Heat After Refusing to Stand for American Citizens Over Illegals
Takeaways from the intense hearing with Trump surgeon general nominee Casey Means
Dem rising star’s SOTU rebuttal ripped by conservatives: ‘Anyone who claims she is a “moderate” is a liar’
Trump’s former Ukraine envoy criticizes US abstention on UN peace vote
WATCH: Fiery Brit Squares Up to Muslim and Savages Islamism to His Face – “Every Inch of This Land Is Mine”
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.
Trump’s ‘war on fraud’ draws range of reactions during SOTU speech
Former top Harris adviser ignites backlash over ‘political props’ comment targeting USA men’s hockey team
The Laundering of Iran’s Atrocities: How Western Voices Became a Shield for the Islamic Republic’s Mass Killings
Karoline Leavitt Drops List of Policies Dems Wouldn’t Stand For, Including Voter ID and Fewer Murders
Sen. Chuck Schumer Defends Democrats’ Decision to Sit During SOTU, After Trump Invited Them to Stand if They Support Americans Over Illegals
Ohio courtroom devolves into chaos after sentencing in death of teen
Fact-checkers challenge Trump’s ‘eight wars’ claim, back him on crime
Democrats’ big misfire at State of the Union has GOP strategists salivating: ‘Huge moment’
Child predator dubbed ‘monster parents fear most’ cleared for release through California parole program
Trump calls for ‘deranged’ Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar to be ‘institutionalized’ after State of the Union
Border-State Sen. Mark Kelly is Feeling the Heat After Refusing to Stand for American Citizens Over Illegals
Takeaways from the intense hearing with Trump surgeon general nominee Casey Means
Dem rising star’s SOTU rebuttal ripped by conservatives: ‘Anyone who claims she is a “moderate” is a liar’
Trump’s former Ukraine envoy criticizes US abstention on UN peace vote
WATCH: Fiery Brit Squares Up to Muslim and Savages Islamism to His Face – “Every Inch of This Land Is Mine”
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.
