US Senator Rick Scott demands meeting with NBA boss over Houston Rockets China furore following pro-Hong Kong protest tweet by GM Daryl Morey
- Backlash is growing over league’s statement on Rockets GM’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protests
- Florida Republican Scott seeks sit-down with commissioner Adam Silver about ‘NBA’s involvement in Communist China’
The National Basketball Association’s China crisis deepened on Monday as a ranking US senator demanded a meeting with the league’s commissioner and a backlash against its statement on a tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey in support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong grew.
Senator Rick Scott, a Republican representing Florida, requested “a meeting with [NBA] Commissioner [Adam] Silver immediately to discuss the NBA’s involvement in Communist China”.
Scott has been one of the most vocal US lawmakers in terms of supporting the Hong Kong demonstrations, some violent, which have been interrupting commerce and shutting mass transit intermittently for more than four months in the semi-autonomous city.
“Men and women are risking their lives to fight for the same freedom we take advantage of in this country,” Scott said. “As Americans, it is our duty to stand together against injustice, and that means standing up to Communist China and President Xi [Jinping] as he violates the rights guaranteed under the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.”
The NBA said on its official social media account on China’s Weibo microblogging platform that it was “extremely disappointed” by Houston Rockets general manager Morey’s “inappropriate” tweet about Hong Kong, which “severely hurt the feelings of Chinese fans”.