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.”
Kamala Harris Lashes Out After Another Illegal is Killed While Allegedly Trying to Run Over ICE Agents
Dem Activist Harry Sisson Proves How Violent Leftists Are, Predicts Charlie Kirk Statue in NYC Won’t Last 10 Minutes
Montana Dem running as blue-collar smokejumper spent years lobbying for far-left groups
Trump derailed his intel chief pick’s confirmation. Now he gets another shot.
‘I Just Wanted to Go Home to Jesus’ – Kathie Lee Gifford Opens Up About Health Challenges
Todd Blanche hearing to test GOP support as Senate weighs Trump’s DOJ pick
The federal agency you’ve never heard of ripping up and replacing Chinese investments around the world
Trump-backed Republicans aren’t courting endorsements of outgoing senators
Illegal immigrant sentenced after fiery California semitruck crash killed 3
ICE officer hailed as hero after saving driver injured in Missouri crash
Bank robbery suspect allegedly steals kitten, asks employee to hold it before demanding cash
Multiple rescued from pontoon boat near Alcatraz as search continues for missing persons
Biden special counsel’s ‘runaway train’ scooped up sensitive lawmaker info: ‘Abuse of power’
Congressman sounds the alarm on China: ‘We’re sleepwalking through this competition’
Shock Video: Machete Fight Breaks Out in Middle of England Intersection, Man Recording Says This Insanity Happens ‘Day In and Day Out’
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.
Kamala Harris Lashes Out After Another Illegal is Killed While Allegedly Trying to Run Over ICE Agents
Dem Activist Harry Sisson Proves How Violent Leftists Are, Predicts Charlie Kirk Statue in NYC Won’t Last 10 Minutes
Montana Dem running as blue-collar smokejumper spent years lobbying for far-left groups
Trump derailed his intel chief pick’s confirmation. Now he gets another shot.
‘I Just Wanted to Go Home to Jesus’ – Kathie Lee Gifford Opens Up About Health Challenges
Todd Blanche hearing to test GOP support as Senate weighs Trump’s DOJ pick
The federal agency you’ve never heard of ripping up and replacing Chinese investments around the world
Trump-backed Republicans aren’t courting endorsements of outgoing senators
Illegal immigrant sentenced after fiery California semitruck crash killed 3
ICE officer hailed as hero after saving driver injured in Missouri crash
Bank robbery suspect allegedly steals kitten, asks employee to hold it before demanding cash
Multiple rescued from pontoon boat near Alcatraz as search continues for missing persons
Biden special counsel’s ‘runaway train’ scooped up sensitive lawmaker info: ‘Abuse of power’
Congressman sounds the alarm on China: ‘We’re sleepwalking through this competition’
Shock Video: Machete Fight Breaks Out in Middle of England Intersection, Man Recording Says This Insanity Happens ‘Day In and Day Out’
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.
