NBA superstar LeBron James told reporters he would not be commenting in the future about the ongoing feud between the NBA and China over freedom of speech and the Hong Kong freedom protests.
“I’d be cheating my teammates by continuing to harp on something that won’t benefit us trying to win a championship, because that’s what we’re here for,” James said Tuesday night.
“We are leaders, and we can step up at a times,” James said before adding, “But if you don’t feel like you should on things, you shouldn’t have to.”
The 34-year-old athlete received backlash after he said Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was “wasn’t educated” when he tweeted his support for the Hong Kong protesters. James also said that freedom of speech could sometimes have “negative” ramifications.
Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse told James he was “parroting communist propaganda” by not standing with the Hong Kong freedom protesters. Likewise, Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the Los Angeles Lakers teammate was “kissing up to tyrants and murderers.”
https://t.co/aJqYFuRXkK pic.twitter.com/9hSwbbQ3YP
— Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse) October 15, 2019
Morey ignited a feud between the NBA and China last week after he tweeted support for Hong Kong freedom protests. China responded by threatening future business with the NBA if they did not crack down on criticism from their members.
The NBA has since denied media access to players in China during the conclusion of their trip and kicked fans out of games for holding signs supporting Hong Kong.
