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.
2/ I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors have provided and I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention. My tweets are my own and in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA.
— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) October 7, 2019
CNBC has a full account here. Looking for the offending tweet, I found the local Houston television news story below.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.