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.”
You Could See Drones Buzzing All Over the Country: Trump Admin Expands Drone Operations
‘I’m Not Kidding’: FBI Agent Wanted to Charge Elon Musk for Asking Federal Workers What They Did That Week
Police officer, woman shot near Notre Dame after football tailgates
El-Sayed’s Senate bid raises new concerns over a powerful privilege that comes with the job
Trump says Triumphal Arch will be converted into ‘top-grade’ military complex
ICE-led Florida operation nets 500 — including illegal aliens accused of murder, child abuse, cartel ties
Several Were Illegal Aliens: DOJ Announces 16 Culprits Caught Illegally Voting in Federal Elections
WATCH: Exclusive look at blue-collar workforce fueling America’s AI boom
DSA Chapter Leader Resigns, Warns ‘Frightening’ and ‘Extreme’ Radicals Are Running the Show
WATCH: AI safety scare sparks Cap Hill fight over guardrails: ‘China’s going to eat our lunch’
‘Not a slam dunk’: Trump’s 2028 mail-vote push hinges on one big legal question
El Sayed-aligned Islamic council with alleged terrorism financing ties issued fatwa to financially support Muslim candidates
Trey Gowdy talks about his new novel and what he’s up to next
US military strikes alleged narco-trafficking vessel in Caribbean, killing 4 ‘narco-terrorists’
Justice Department charges 16 across multiple states with alleged illegal voting, election crimes
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.
You Could See Drones Buzzing All Over the Country: Trump Admin Expands Drone Operations
‘I’m Not Kidding’: FBI Agent Wanted to Charge Elon Musk for Asking Federal Workers What They Did That Week
Police officer, woman shot near Notre Dame after football tailgates
El-Sayed’s Senate bid raises new concerns over a powerful privilege that comes with the job
Trump says Triumphal Arch will be converted into ‘top-grade’ military complex
ICE-led Florida operation nets 500 — including illegal aliens accused of murder, child abuse, cartel ties
Several Were Illegal Aliens: DOJ Announces 16 Culprits Caught Illegally Voting in Federal Elections
WATCH: Exclusive look at blue-collar workforce fueling America’s AI boom
DSA Chapter Leader Resigns, Warns ‘Frightening’ and ‘Extreme’ Radicals Are Running the Show
WATCH: AI safety scare sparks Cap Hill fight over guardrails: ‘China’s going to eat our lunch’
‘Not a slam dunk’: Trump’s 2028 mail-vote push hinges on one big legal question
El Sayed-aligned Islamic council with alleged terrorism financing ties issued fatwa to financially support Muslim candidates
Trey Gowdy talks about his new novel and what he’s up to next
US military strikes alleged narco-trafficking vessel in Caribbean, killing 4 ‘narco-terrorists’
Justice Department charges 16 across multiple states with alleged illegal voting, election crimes
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.
