NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a clarifying statement about the ongoing saga that began when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted out his support for the protesters in Hong Kong.
Last Friday, Morey posted an image on Twitter that said, “Fight for Freedom. Stand for Hong Kong,” amid increasing tension between Hong Kong and Beijing, which controls the territory. Morey has since deleted the tweet and apologized. The NBA issued a statement on Sunday declaring that the league has “great respect for the history and culture of China,” which garnered backlash.
Silver addressed the criticism on Monday stating, “There is no doubt, the economic impact is already clear,” adding that “there have already been fairly dramatic consequences from that tweet.”
He clarified those remarks a day later after the negative publicity the NBA was facing did not relent.
“I recognize our initial statement left people angered, confused or unclear on who we are or what the NBA stands for,” Silver’s Tuesday statement began.” We have seen how basketball can be an important form of people-to-people exchange that deepens ties between the United States and China.
“Values of equality, respect and freedom of expression have long defined the NBA — and will continue to do so,” it went on. “It is inevitable that people around the world — including from America and China — will have different viewpoints over different issues. It is not the role of the NBA to adjudicate those differences.”
It’s unclear if the Chinese Basketball Association will reverse their decision to suspend their cooperation with the Rockets.
[Opinion: Stand for freedom, boycott the NBA]
