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Does Daryl Morey’s Rockets resignation mean the saga is ended? A timeline of the NBA’s China crisis
- Player attacks, hall-of-famer defences, support, criticism, accusations and rebuttals – all have been a feature of a hugely turbulent period for relations between the NBA and China
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The NBA’s China crisis appears to be finally drawing to a conclusion after a damaging year out in the cold. Some reports suggest the fallout from Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters at the beginning of October last year has cost the NBA some US$400 million.
Relations between the basketball giant and the government of its biggest earner appeared to have thawed in recent months, and that was confirmed when China’s state broadcaster CCTV made a surprise announcement that it would be televising game five of the recently concluded NBA Finals.
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A conciliatory tone from the NBA was the reason given by the Chinese government for its unlikely about face.
Now, with the announcement that the offending Morey will leave his post with the Rockets, it seems like both sides are preparing to put the saga to bed. But questions still abound.
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Below is a timeline of the key events that started with Morey’s controversial tweet and led up to today, when Morey became no longer an employee of the NBA, as Chinese officials apparently requested all along.
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