Kowtowing, NBA style

I learn from the 10-point guide to today’s Wall Street Journal by Matt Murray that “The NBA’s carefully plotted strategic emphasis on China was jolted off course by a tweet Friday night” (WSJ story posted here). Murray’s email newsletter condenses the WSJ story:

The league scrambled to contain an escalating crisis in China after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for Hong Kong’s mass protests against Beijing’s authoritarian government. He deleted it quickly, but Chinese sponsors pulled their money from the franchise, Chinese broadcast partners said they wouldn’t air Rockets games and the Chinese Basketball Association suspended its ties with the team. The ferocious response coincided with the league’s top executives descending on China for preseason games this week.

Let the kowtowing begin. Don’t fight for freedom. Don’t stand with Hong Kong.

CNBC has a full account here. Looking for the offending tweet, I found the local Houston television news story below.

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