NBAs Damage Control Efforts After Pro-Hong Kong Tweet Fuels Firestorm in China and at Home

NBAs Damage Control Efforts After Pro-Hong Kong Tweet Fuels Firestorm in China and at Home

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is facing growing international scrutiny for bowing to Chi..

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is facing growing international scrutiny for bowing to Chinese pressure after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted out a message of support for Hong Kong protesters.

“Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong,” read the caption of the since-deleted tweet by Morey, originally posted on Oct. 4. The phrase has become a popular slogan in the embattled city of Hong Kong, where protesters stage almost-daily demonstrations against Beijings creeping encroachment.

Houston Rockets Introduce Jeremy Lin
Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets speaks during a press conference announcing the signing of Jeremy Lin at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on July 19, 2012. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta soon reproached Morey on Twitter, saying that Moreys views did not speak for the organization.

NBAs chief communication officer Mike Bass also issued an official statement on Oct. 6 apologizing for the “regrettable” tweet that “deeply offended” Chinese fans. The Chinese statement posted onto the popular Chinese microblogging site Weibo was worded more apologetically: “We are extremely disappointed for the … inappropriate remarks. He has, without a doubt, seriously hurt the feelings of Chinese sports fans.”

Morey posted two tweets on Oct. 6 to stress that he did not intend to offend anyone and “was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event.”

While speaking in Tokyo on Oct. 7, Houston Rockets star player James Harden also apologized for Moreys tweet. The team was in Japan for a series of games. “We apologize. You know, we love China, we love playing there,” he said.

Commercial Interests at Stake

While NBA officials scrambled to minimize the tweets impact, the news sparked an immediate backlash in China.

The Chinese consulate in Houston said it was “deeply shocked by the erroneous comments” and demanded immediate action to “correct the error.”

The Chinese Basketball Association, chaired by Yao Ming, a former Houston Rockets basketball star himself, was the first to cut business ties with the NBA team on Oct. 6, saying it was “suspending” cooperation with the team.

yao ming
yao ming
Yao Ming (C-L) during the NBA Cares Special Olympics Basketball Clinic ahead of a 2013–2014 NBA preseason game against the Golden State Warriors in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

The Chinese association announced on Oct. 7 that its canceled four planned NBA exhibition games set for later this month.

Sponsors such as Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Credit Card Center and sportswear brand Li Ning also suspended their partnerships.

On the same day, NBAs exclusive online sports channel in China, Tencent Sports, announced that it would temporarily halt all broadcasting and reporting related to the Houston Rockets. The Tencent streaming deal is worth $1.5 billion over the next five years, according to The Associated Press.

The Shanghai-based sports news and commentary platform Hupu deleted all content that had reported about Morey in the past.

The hawkish Chinese state-run media Global Times lambasted Morey in an Oct. 7 editorial for his “impulsive words” that “invited trouble on himself.”

“Entities that value commercial interests must make their members speak cautiously,” it continued. “Moreys freedom is at the expense of the Rockets huge commercial interests, which the team is unwilling to give up.”

Brooklyn Nets new owner, Joe Tsai, also weighed in on the issue—by siding with the Chinese regime. In a late Oct. 6 post on Facebook, Tsai, who also co-founded the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, labeled the ongoing Hong Kong protests a “separatist movement,” a common narrative disseminated in Chinese state media outlets. Many protesters have said they do not seek independence, but instead wish for the Chinese regime to respect Hong Kongs autonomy.

“I am sure hes a fine NBA general manager, and I will take at face value his subsequent apology that he was not as well informed as he should have been,” Tsai wrote. “But the hurt that this incident has caused will take a long time to repair.”

james Harden
james Harden
Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard Amir Coffey (7) guards Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) during the second quarter of an NBA preseason basketball game, in Honolulu, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Censure at Home

U.S. and UK officials blasted the NBA for prioritizing its economic interests in China.

“Chinas trying to silence speech at UK universities, media, and now in U.S. sports,” said Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the UK Foreign Affairs Committee.

“As a lifelong Houston Rockets fan, I was proud to see [Daryl Morey] call out the Chinese Communist Partys repressive treatment of protestors in Hong Kong,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Oct. 6. “Now, in pursuit of big [dollars], the NBA is shamefully retreating.”

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