Mainland Chinese fans angered by Houston Rockets general manager’s tweet supporting Hong Kong protests

Daryl Morey posted an image reading ‘Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong’ – a slogan used by pro-democracy protesters – before deleting it

Many on social media expressed their disapproval, while the NBA team’s owner said Morey did not speak for the Rockets

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Some Chinese social media users have called for Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey to apologise for his tweet. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:32pm, 5 Oct 2019Updated: 12:41am, 6 Oct 2019

Mainland Chinese fans of the American basketball team Houston Rockets have taken to social media to vent their anger over a tweet by its general manager, Daryl Morey, in support of Hong Kong’s protesters.

Morey posted the image, reading “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong” – a slogan frequently used by the pro-democracy protesters – on Saturday.

He later deleted the tweet, replacing it with an image of Tokyo, where the Rockets will face the Toronto Raptors in a preseason game next week.

But it had already been picked up by Chinese state media outlets including Global Times and People’s Daily and was being circulated on China’s version of Twitter. Fans of the NBA team – one of the most popular in China – took to Weibo to express their disapproval on the official Rockets account, which has more than 7.26 million followers.

Some called for Morey to apologise for the tweet. “I’ve liked the Rockets for 15 years – I watched their games with my grandfather when I was in primary school. But this crosses the line,” the top-rated comment read.

Yao Ming played eight seasons with the Houston Rockets. Photo: AP

The Rockets started gaining popularity in the country after Chinese basketball player Yao Ming – one of China’s best-known athletes – joined the team in 2002. He played eight seasons with the Rockets until he retired in 2011.