A firestorm has started for the NBA involving the political turmoil occurring in Hong Kong. LeBron James decided he wanted in on the war of ideologies when he offered up his opinion dealing with the conflict in Hong Kong. But, before we get into that, let’s go back to where the issue started.
For about 5 months, protestors that are pro-democracy have been opposing Chinese government legislations with a series of ongoing demonstrations.
Protestors are against legislation that would enable the government to extradite people facing charges to mainland China. Since these protests began back in June, the demonstrations have evolved to not only protesting to remove that legislation, but also interjecting a more pro-democracy government.
In support of the Hong Kong protestors, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted on Oct. 4, “Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” The tweet was eventually deleted, but caused a major disruption in the relationship between the NBA and Chinese government.
The Chinese government did not take too kindly to Morey’s tweets as they are the second biggest market for the NBA and have a business relationship that produces a substantial amount of revenue for the sport.
As a result, NBA sporting events and activities were boycotted or cancelled. The Chinese government even enforced an immediate gag order for NBA teams during their China visit. Broadcast company Tencent discontinued any broadcasting of Houston Rockets’ games and planned business activities.
CCTV of China released a statement showing their disapproval of Morey’s comments:
We’ve noted that Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA who has been attending events in Japan, has responded to the inappropriate comment on Hong Kong made by the general manager of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey. We voice our strong dissatisfaction and opposition to Adam Silver offering as an excuse the right to freedom of expression. We believe that no comments challenging national sovereignty and social stability fall within the scope of freedom of expressions. In light of this, China Media Group sports channel has decided to immediately suspend the current plans to relay broadcast the NBA pre-season (China games) and will immediately undertake a full check of all cooperative exchanges involving the NBA.
James had his own take on Morey’s comments. “I don’t want to get into a verbal feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn’t educated on the situation at hand,” James said to reporters. “And so many people could have been harmed not only financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually. So just be careful what we tweet and say and we do, even though, yes, we do have freedom of speech, but there can be a lot of negative that comes with that, too.”
James continued, “At times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you’re not thinking about others and you’re only thinking about yourself. I’m just talking about the tweet itself. You never know the ramifications that can happen. And we all seen what that did. Not only did for our league, but for all of us in America, for people in China as well. And sometimes you have to think through things that you say that may cause harm not only for yourself but for the majority of the people. I think that’s just a fine example.”
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The Lakers player’s comment did not fly too well with US citizens. Social media was a-blazed with criticism of James’ comments.
Meanwhile, apologies from Morey and the league were issued expressing regret for Morey’s comments. That was until backlash hit them, as well. The league backtracked their apologies to the Chinese government and in turn apologized to citizens of the United States defending free speech. In other words, it became a tornado of confusion, apologies and foot-in-the-mouth moments.
The response on social media prompted James to clear up his statements. “Let me clear up the confusion,” he tweeted. “I do not believe there was any consideration for the consequences and ramifications of the tweet. I’m not discussing the substance. Others can talk about that. My team and this league just went through a difficult week. I think people need to understand what a tweet or statement can do to others. And I believe nobody stopped and considered what would happen. Could have waited a week to send it.”
Unfortunately, people interpreted James’ comments as insensitive to the human factor that resides in the conflict between the Chinese government and the people of Hong Kong.
While both Morey and James have taken a stance on the issues at hand, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has been mum about the situation.
The cost at hand for the NBA includes potential sponsorships lost, suspension of contract renewals for sportswear and commercial deals, and a decrease in media coverage and scheduled games in China. So, it’s understandable why Adam Silver would be very cautious about his perspective on the conflict and why LeBron James would try to protect future NBA dealings in China.
However, it would be wise to ask what’s the bigger, pressing issue. Is it protecting business deals or vouching for human rights?
