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.”
Omar’s deleted tweet could give clue on alleged brother marriage
Trump’s war on drug cartels could gain powerful new ally after pivotal election
The parties have flipped on support for Israel
BLUE WAVE CRUSHED? Frank Luntz Warns CNN of Flawed Polling and Defiant Trump Voters
DHS Testing Nonlethal Device That Causes ‘Irresistible Urge to Run’ for Use at Border
The only band that ever mattered was … the Monkees
Department of War Releases New Batch of UFO Files, Including Data on ‘Black Triangle’ Incidents from This Year
Marriage Certificate from 1997 May Confirm the Real Identity of ‘Ilhan Omar’ and Her Marriage to Her Brother
Canada is feeling the pain from Trump’s tariffs — but the trade fight didn’t start overnight
Trump officials warn decades-long decline among American men could carry national security consequences
Katie Britt quietly invests in GOP candidates — and her own political future
A New England city was transformed by refugees – now it faces a youth gun violence crisis: ‘Fear for my life’
FBI arrests Georgia man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at Atlanta ICE facility
Notorious ‘Tan Mom’ claims ICE agents mistook her for illegal immigrant because of extreme tan
Incredible Video: Heroic Dad Fights Off Gang of Carjackers While Protecting Daughter, Shoots 1 Dead
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.
Omar’s deleted tweet could give clue on alleged brother marriage
Trump’s war on drug cartels could gain powerful new ally after pivotal election
The parties have flipped on support for Israel
BLUE WAVE CRUSHED? Frank Luntz Warns CNN of Flawed Polling and Defiant Trump Voters
DHS Testing Nonlethal Device That Causes ‘Irresistible Urge to Run’ for Use at Border
The only band that ever mattered was … the Monkees
Department of War Releases New Batch of UFO Files, Including Data on ‘Black Triangle’ Incidents from This Year
Marriage Certificate from 1997 May Confirm the Real Identity of ‘Ilhan Omar’ and Her Marriage to Her Brother
Canada is feeling the pain from Trump’s tariffs — but the trade fight didn’t start overnight
Trump officials warn decades-long decline among American men could carry national security consequences
Katie Britt quietly invests in GOP candidates — and her own political future
A New England city was transformed by refugees – now it faces a youth gun violence crisis: ‘Fear for my life’
FBI arrests Georgia man accused of throwing Molotov cocktail at Atlanta ICE facility
Notorious ‘Tan Mom’ claims ICE agents mistook her for illegal immigrant because of extreme tan
Incredible Video: Heroic Dad Fights Off Gang of Carjackers While Protecting Daughter, Shoots 1 Dead
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.
