Chinese state-run media hammered the NBA after Commissioner Adam Silver said the league will stick by Houston Rockets General Manger Daryl Morey who supported Hong Kong freedom protests.
State-controlled Global Times said the NBA was kneeling to “political correctness in the U.S.” The NBA commissioner “will only offend more people no matter what he tries to say,” they said. The paper added there was “little room for reconciliation” between the NBA and China.
Condemnation from China poured in after Silver clarified Monday that the league stood by Morey, despite initially apologizing to China and the league’s fans there.
“There have already been fairly dramatic consequences from that tweet, and I have read some of the media suggesting that we are not supporting Daryl Morey, but in fact we have,” Silver told media in Tokyo.
Morey, 47, tweeted support for Hong Kong protests Friday, which ignited the clash between China and the NBA. China announced it was suspending business ties with the Rockets and would not air NBA preseason games.
An editorial by China Daily, an English paper run by the Chinese Communist Party, accused the league of being “honey-mouthed” in its initial statement in “an attempt to prevent the hemorrhaging of profits made in China.
“As the NBA directly benefits from the rule of law, robust growth, and stability of China, Silver’s about face, which will definitely give a shot to the arms of the rioters in Hong Kong, shows his organization is willing to be another handy tool for U.S. interference in the special administrative region,” the paper claimed.
The 57-year-old commissioner acknowledged there had been a “clear” economic impact to defending Morey. It is unclear what further steps China might take against the league.
