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.”
Platner’s brutal attacks on Army soldiers as ‘fat, lazy’ revealed in resurfaced posts
Havana regime in suspense after Castro indictment with Trump pressure on, says Cuban-born GOP Rep.
Kansas City barbecue restaurant prepares for World Cup tourism rush
Feds seize $6.4M worth of cocaine aboard oil tanker at Port of Los Angeles, arrest suspected cartel smuggler
‘Illicit’ version of fentanyl linked to deadly New Mexico incident that sickened first responders
High school teacher who allegedly had sex with student in closet now faces charges involving more teens
Military families demand DOJ distribute nearly $800M from French cement company found guilty of bribing ISIS
Children’s YouTube Superstar Announces the Death of His 14-Year-Old Son
Kyle Busch 911 Call Released, Shedding New Light on His Shocking Death
Way harder than it should be: Why Congress may balk on $1.7B compensation fund
Trump announces highest civilian honor for 9/11 hero remembered as the ‘Man in the Red Bandana’
New Jersey Officials Say the Mafia Is Thriving Again as Tech-Savvy Mobsters Take Crime Online
Sheridan Gorman’s parents say protecting children from failed immigration policies isn’t a one-party fight
DOJ vows to appeal after judge dismisses smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia as ‘vindictive’
Police: Men Executed Florida Firefighter for a Pair of Nikes and an iPhone, Gloated About It
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.
Platner’s brutal attacks on Army soldiers as ‘fat, lazy’ revealed in resurfaced posts
Havana regime in suspense after Castro indictment with Trump pressure on, says Cuban-born GOP Rep.
Kansas City barbecue restaurant prepares for World Cup tourism rush
Feds seize $6.4M worth of cocaine aboard oil tanker at Port of Los Angeles, arrest suspected cartel smuggler
‘Illicit’ version of fentanyl linked to deadly New Mexico incident that sickened first responders
High school teacher who allegedly had sex with student in closet now faces charges involving more teens
Military families demand DOJ distribute nearly $800M from French cement company found guilty of bribing ISIS
Children’s YouTube Superstar Announces the Death of His 14-Year-Old Son
Kyle Busch 911 Call Released, Shedding New Light on His Shocking Death
Way harder than it should be: Why Congress may balk on $1.7B compensation fund
Trump announces highest civilian honor for 9/11 hero remembered as the ‘Man in the Red Bandana’
New Jersey Officials Say the Mafia Is Thriving Again as Tech-Savvy Mobsters Take Crime Online
Sheridan Gorman’s parents say protecting children from failed immigration policies isn’t a one-party fight
DOJ vows to appeal after judge dismisses smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia as ‘vindictive’
Police: Men Executed Florida Firefighter for a Pair of Nikes and an iPhone, Gloated About It
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.
