NBA-China: Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s Hong Kong tweet one year on
- League’s relationship with China has been increasingly politicised in the US, while criticism for LeBron James has continued
- Games have been shown with NBA commissioner Adam Silver confident they will return to CCTV, while Morey has kept his job
Sunday’s NBA Finals game three coincided with the one-year anniversary of Daryl Morey’s tweet supporting Hong Kong’s anti-government protesters.
“Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong.” That was the image of the Houston Rockets GM’s tweet. It was swiftly deleted but the damage was already done.
Within an hour, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta tweeted that the NBA franchise is “NOT a political organisation” and the league went on full damage control mode, but Morey’s tweet kicked off a chain of events that threatened to derail the NBA’s 40-year relationship with China, bringing criticism from China’s foreign ministry and threats in state media.
So, a year on, where do they stand?
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Hong Kong basketball fans angered by LeBron James’ comment on Daryl Morey’s tweet
First off, Morey is still the Rockets GM. Despite reports in the immediate aftermath of his tweet that there was pressure for him to be sacked, he has not been.
In fact, Fertitta said last month that Morey’s job is safe and he will be the man to recruit the replacement for outgoing head coach Mike D’Antoni.