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.”
The Truth Behind MTG’s Resignation Date Is Exactly the Reason Why Conservatives Don’t Trust Politicians
Deep Dive: ‘Record Breaking’ Tax Refunds Expected For Americans in 2026 Thanks to ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
New Orleans not taking crime ‘seriously enough,’ says carjacking victim’s daughter as federal operation looms
Crockett Cries Racism Over Criticism of Democrat Who Colluded with Epstein Against Trump
Leaked Public School Teacher Union Training Exposes Plans to Undermine Parents, Indoctrinate Students with Gender, Race Ideology
Anna Kepner dies mysteriously during family vacation on Carnival cruise ship: Timeline of events
Doubling Down: Top House Democrat says focus on high prices ‘absolutely going to continue’
WATCH: Democrats struggle to defend Schumer after shutdown ends with few wins
North Carolina driver says bald eagle dropped cat through her windshield: ‘You may not believe me’
Multiple Chicago police officers attacked in downtown violence in which several victims were shot
It won’t get any better: Washington faces another looming government shutdown
Trump terminates deportation protections for Somali nationals living in Minnesota ‘effective immediately’
Breaking: Marjorie Taylor Greene to Resign from Congress Following Trump Feud
Texas files emergency Supreme Court petition after Trump-backed congressional map blocked by federal judges
Florida to use hundreds of confiscated Chinese drones as target practice for US military
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.
The Truth Behind MTG’s Resignation Date Is Exactly the Reason Why Conservatives Don’t Trust Politicians
Deep Dive: ‘Record Breaking’ Tax Refunds Expected For Americans in 2026 Thanks to ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
New Orleans not taking crime ‘seriously enough,’ says carjacking victim’s daughter as federal operation looms
Crockett Cries Racism Over Criticism of Democrat Who Colluded with Epstein Against Trump
Leaked Public School Teacher Union Training Exposes Plans to Undermine Parents, Indoctrinate Students with Gender, Race Ideology
Anna Kepner dies mysteriously during family vacation on Carnival cruise ship: Timeline of events
Doubling Down: Top House Democrat says focus on high prices ‘absolutely going to continue’
WATCH: Democrats struggle to defend Schumer after shutdown ends with few wins
North Carolina driver says bald eagle dropped cat through her windshield: ‘You may not believe me’
Multiple Chicago police officers attacked in downtown violence in which several victims were shot
It won’t get any better: Washington faces another looming government shutdown
Trump terminates deportation protections for Somali nationals living in Minnesota ‘effective immediately’
Breaking: Marjorie Taylor Greene to Resign from Congress Following Trump Feud
Texas files emergency Supreme Court petition after Trump-backed congressional map blocked by federal judges
Florida to use hundreds of confiscated Chinese drones as target practice for US military
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.
