Photo: Hans Gutknecht/Digital First Media/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty
On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers player spoke for the first time about Morey’s Oct. 4 tweet — which showed support for Hong Kong amid recent protests against a proposed bill that would allow extraditions from the semiautonomous territory to China — and told reporters that he believed the NBA executive had been “misinformed” about the situation he was tweeting about.
“I don’t want to get into a [verbal] feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn’t educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke,” James, 34, said ahead of the Lakers’ preseason game against the Golden State Warriors,according to ESPN. “And so many people could have been harmed not only financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually. So just be careful what we tweet and say and we do, even though, yes, we do have freedom of speech, but there can be a lot of negative that comes with that, too.”
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey.Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty
“Let me clear up the confusion. I do not believe there was any consideration for the consequences and ramifications of the tweet. I’m not discussing the substance,” James clarified on Twitter. “Others can talk About that.”
In a subsequent tweet he added: “My team and this league just went through a difficult week. I think people need to understand what a tweet or statement can do to others. And I believe nobody stopped and considered what would happen. Could have waited a week to send it.”
On Oct. 4, Morey allegedly sent out a tweet that read “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong,” according to multiple reports. The tweet was referencing protests over the proposed bill, which many citizens of Hong Kong fear is a way for Beijing leaders to contradict rights the territory was granted when the United Kingdom returned it to Chinese control in 1997, according toThe Washington Post.The Lakers were, at the time, en route to China for a series of preseason games.
His tweet caused an uproar in China, especially because the Rockets — who drafted the legendary Chinese player Yao Ming in 2002 — is one of the most popular NBA teams in the East Asian country. TheChinese consulate in Houstonissued a statement expressing “strong dissatisfaction” over the tweet.
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Morey has since issued an apology on Oct. 6, saying, “I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China. I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives.”
He continued, “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.”
Many politicians from both parties have criticized the NBA’s response. Presidential Democratic candidateBeto O’Rourketweeted“the only thing the NBA should be apologizing for is their blatant prioritization of profits over human rights.” Meanwhile, Republican Sen.Ted Cruzof Texas,tweetedthat the NBA was “shamefully retreating.”
source: people.com
