Ever since Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has been facing backlash from the Chinese government about their response to the situation.
Chinese sponsors immediately cut ties with the NBA after commissioner Adam Silver refused to even consider firing Morey over his tweet opposing the Chinese government.
The loss of support of Chinese sponsors is very significant for the NBA, and Silver said the league has already suffered significant financial losses as a result of the degradation of the relationship between the NBA and China and will continue to lose money as the regular season goes on.
Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports reported that many NBA teams are preparing “for a scenario in which the cap for the 2020-21 season could drop between 10 and 15% due to the current situation between NBA and China.” The expected drop in players’ salaries has prompted many prominent players to weigh in on the controversy.
Houston Rockets star point guard James Harden apologized for his general manager’s remark and expressed his appreciation for the Chinese fanbase’s support of the Rockets organization.
The relationship between the Houston Rockets and China is especially important considering the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association, NBA hall of famer Yao Ming, spent his entire eight season career with the Rockets. Currently, Silver is trying to meet with Yao to try and mend the NBA-China relationship.
LeBron James has also taken opposition to Morey, saying his tweet was short-sighted and he did not consider the potential consequences of what he said. James said, “Even though yes, we do have freedom of speech, but there can be a lot of negative that comes with that too.”
And while there are players who are not supporting Morey and the people of Hong Kong, there are others who are.
The response of NBA players and executives who have criticized Morey is not justified. James saying that Morey was only thinking about himself when he tweeted his support for the protests in Hong Kong is not true. James’ response makes me think he is only thinking about himself and his paycheck by not supporting the people of Hong Kong.
I also think many players who are not speaking out against the Chinese government are hypocritical, saying that they should not voice their opinions on foreign issues when they are more than willing to voice their opinions on domestic ones.
Steph Curry is a prime example of this, saying that in regard to China’s relationship with Hong Kong, “I don’t know that history well enough to kind of speak on it or form an opinion yet.”
While he is not willing to speak about the Chinese government, Curry has been a critic of President Donald Trump in the past. Overall, the controversy between Hong Kong, China and the NBA is just getting started, and as the protests roll on, tensions between all parties involved could continue to heat up.
This discussion about freedom of speech and the NBA standing in defense of it marks an important time in U.S. relations with China.
I hope that people do not just turn a blind eye to the situation and the people of Hong Kong can achieve the freedom they desire.
