Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley lashed out at a top ESPN columnist who sent a nasty message to the Republican after he asked NBA Commissioner Adam Silver if he would allow players to wear “Free Hong Kong” on the back of their jerseys.
Hawley, who sent a letter to Silver on Friday that criticized the league’s decision to allow players to wear “pre-approved phrases” that reflect liberal social justice priorities, was sent an email by ESPN columnist Adrian Wojnarowski that simply read, “F— you.”
“Don’t criticize #China or express support for law enforcement to @espn,” Hawley responded via Twitter. “It makes them real mad @Outkick”
Wojnarowski addressed the controversial email by saying he made a “regrettable mistake.”
“I was disrespectful and I made a regrettable mistake,” Wojnarowski wrote in a message he shared on Twitter. “I’m sorry for the way I handled myself and I am reaching out immediately to Senator Hawley to apologize directly. I also need to apologize to my ESPN colleagues because I know my actions were unacceptable and should not reflect on any of them.”
ESPN also released a statement.
“This is completely unacceptable behavior and we do not condone it,” ESPN said. “It is inexcusable for anyone working for ESPN to respond the way Adrian did to Senator Hawley. We are addressing it directly with Adrian and specifics of those conversations will remain internal.”
Hawley argued in the letter to Silver that players should be allowed to wear phrases that are critical of the Chinese Communist Party. The league, which shares a highly lucrative relationship with China, declined to back Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey when he spoke in favor of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong last October.
“On July 3, the NBA came to an agreement with the NBA players union allowing players to wear certain social and political messages on their jerseys, almost all aligned with the message of recent anti-police protests,” wrote Hawley. “Conspicuously missing from the list of approved phrases are any in support of the victims of the Chinese Communist Party, including the people of Hong Kong, whose remaining freedoms are being extinguished by the CCP’s newly-enacted national security law.”
