Free Republic

NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters this week that China’s response to former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey expressing his support for anti-government Hong Kong protesters in 2019 cost the league hundreds of millions of dollars. Morey, who is now general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, tweeted in October 2019 an image that read, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” Morey would later delete the tweet and explain that he did not intend to offend Rockets fans or his friends in China. Demonstrators were protesting against China’s control of Hong Kong at the time. China first pulled games...

The NBA was understandably excited to start its season and get away from the China controversy that had embroiled the league over the past couple weeks. However, even more controversy ensued on Tuesday night and on into Wednesday as video surfaced showing LeBron James walking off the court and screaming while the national anthem played. James faced a firestorm of criticism after saying that Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey “wasn’t educated” on the China-Hong-Kong issue, before he sent a message of support to pro-democracy protesters earlier this month. While backpedaling, James said that he is not a politician, and...

The Chinese government asked the N.B.A. to fire a team executive who posted on social media in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, the league’s commissioner, Adam Silver, said on Thursday in his first public appearance in the United States since returning from a contentious trip to Asia. “We said there’s no chance that’s happening,” Silver said. “There’s no chance we’ll even discipline him.” The executive, Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, set off the international firestorm with a Twitter post using a slogan used by the protesters in Hong Kong, just as the league was...

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Monday the league backs the free speech rights of Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. But Silver, speaking to Kyodo News in Tokyo, acknowledged the impact of Morey's recent tweet, which supported anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. "There is no doubt, the economic impact is already clear," Silver said. "There have already been fairly dramatic consequences from that tweet, and I have read some of the media suggesting that we are not supporting Daryl Morey, but in fact we have. "I think as a values-based organization that I want to make it clear ... that...