Hundreds of fans held signs, wore shirts and chanted support for Hong Kong and Tibet at the Brooklyn Nets’ first game since returning from China.
The fans sat behind the backboard near the Nets’ bench at Barclays Center on Friday night in their 123-107 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Approximately 300 people wore black T-shirts that read ‘Stand With Hong Kong’ while others wore white T-shirts that read ‘Free Tibet’.
A couple of fans even wore Winnie the Pooh costumes, which has become a way to mock Chinese president Xi Jingping due to their ‘similarities’.
The Nets returned this week after playing exhibition games against the Los Angeles Lakers in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
The games were not televised in China after relations between the NBA and Chinese officials became strained following Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
One fan’s sign was aimed at NBA star LeBron James and Nets owner Joe Tsai, the co-founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, both of who were critical of Morey’s tweet.
Around 300 people wore black T-shirts that read ‘Stand With Hong Kong’ (pictured) at Friday night’s game of the Brooklyn Nets vs the Toronto Raptors
Others wore white T-shirts that read ‘Free Tibet’ and some fans carried signs such as one that read: ‘Human Rights Matter Here + There’ (pictured)
The protest was allegedly organized by Hollywood producer Andrew Duncan, who bought 300 tickets for the activists (left and right). A couple of fans even wore Winnie the Pooh costumes, which has become a way to mock Chinese president Xi Jingping
‘We want to use our performance art to show our support for Hong Kong and the NBA,’ one spectator, 55-year-old Chen Pokong, told the New York Post.
‘[China wants] to take away freedom of speech and now spread dictatorship to America.
‘It seems like NBA people cannot choose their words. So if we don’t stop them, they not only will do bad things in China, they will do bad things in America.’
According to a Twitter thread from journalist Yashar Ali, the activists were brought to the game by Hollywood producer Andrew Duncan
‘Producer and activist Andrew Duncan bought 300 tickets to tonight’s Nets vs Raptors game and is hosting hundreds of Chinese pro-Democracy activists to protest the NBA,’ Ali tweeted.
Duncan told the Post that he was upset after NBA star LeBron James criticized Morey for tweeting his support for the Hong Kong protests.
‘I don’t want to get into a… feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn’t educated on the situation at hand and he spoke,’ James told reporters on Monday
He was met with intense backlash from NBA and non-NBA fans alike.
‘LeBron needs to take time on this issue,’ Duncan said. ‘Why is he not supporting democracy? I think the King has made a royal mistake.’
According to the Post, the newspaper said the majority of protesters were natives of Hong Kong. The activists were mostly peaceful and none of them were banned or ejected from the arena.
One fan’s sign was aimed at Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who was critical of Morey’s tweet and called the executive was ‘misinformed’. Pictured: James speaks during the Los Angeles Lakers media day in El Segundo, California, September 2019
The majority of protesters were natives of Hong Kong and peaceful, and none of them were banned or ejected from the arena. Pictured: Protestors after the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors game at Barclays Center
Nets guard Kyrie Irving said he understood why the protesters came to the game. Pictured: Protesters during the fourth quarter of the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors game at Barclays Center
Nets owner, Joe Tsai, who lives in Hong Kong, appeared to scold Morey in an open letter penned on Facebook.
‘I don’t know Daryl personally. I am sure he’s a fine NBA general manager, and I will take at face value his subsequent apology that he was not as well informed as he should have been,’ he wrote on October 6.
But the hurt that this incident has caused will take a long time to repair.’
However, Nets guard Kyrie Irving said he understood why the protesters came to the game.
‘I think that when you think about communities across the world, I think that a lot of people would stand for world peace,’ he said.
‘Government gets involved and impacts different communities in different ways. The reality is that as individuals it’s our job to stand up for what we believe in.
‘I understand Hong Kong and China is dealing with their issues respectively, but there’s enough oppression and stuff going on in America for me not to be involved in the community issues here as well.’