The NBA has been accused of being a ‘puppet of Beijing’ and craven to the lucrative Chinese market for failing to back Daryl Morey after he tweeted support for Hong Kong protesters, sparking business to cut ties with the Texas team.
Fans took to Twitter Sunday in the wake of the league’s response to the Houston Rockets general manager’s now deleted tweet which consisted of an image of the activists’ rally cry: ‘Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.’
That post drew rebuke from the Chinese Basketball Association, which is headed by former Rockets star center Yao Ming, who said it would suspend cooperation with the Rockets and said Sunday via its official social media that it ‘strongly disagrees’ with Morey’s ‘improper remarks’ regarding Hong Kong.
And the NBA responded Sunday with a statement saying they recognize Morey’s views ‘deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China’, adding the association has ‘great respect for the history and culture of China’.
But that response sparked fierce criticism with Texas Senator Ted Cruz writing: ‘As a lifelong @HoustonRockets fan, I was proud to see @dmorey call out the Chinese Communist Party’s repressive treatment of protestors in Hong Kong.
‘Now, in pursuit of $, the @NBA is shamefully retreating.’
The NBA and Houston Rockets are trying to distance themselves from a since-deleted tweet from general manager Daryl Morey, pictured, whose post about pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong drew rebuke from the Chinese Basketball Association
Morey’s since deleted post consisted of an image of the protestors’ rally cry
On Friday, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta wrote on Twitter: ‘Listen…. @dmorey does NOT speak for the @HoustonRockets. Our presence in Tokyo is all about the promotion of the @NBA internationally and we are NOT a political organization’
That sparked fierce criticism with one fan writing: ‘Guess the NBA is only as progressive and forward thinking as China allows them to be.’
Another said they were ‘disgusted’ by the NBA’s statement, adding: ‘If you care about democracy, freedom, and American values, let the @NBA know how you feel.’
Others piled in to say the NBA had ‘become puppets of communists’, calling the Houston Rockets ‘pathetic’.
One fan tweeted: ‘Also, screw the NBA for not supporting Daryl Morey’s tweet supporting Hong Kong. If the NBA is really going to become another corporate puppet blinding itself against human rights abuses in China, they should be rightfully called out.’
Another argued the league had ‘bowed to communists’ because of money.
Morey has been referring to the four-month old protest movement that has upturned the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
He was back on social media Sunday with a pair of tweets about the incident saying he ‘did not intend my tweet to cause any offense’.
Morey wrote: ‘1/ I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China. I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives.
‘2/ I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors have provided and I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention. My tweets are my own and in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA.’
Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous region in China, is in the midst of months-long protests — sometimes violent — with Beijing sensitive to foreign influence on the unrest.
The Rockets are in Tokyo for the NBA Japan Games 2019 featuring preseason games against the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday and Thursday.
On Friday, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta wrote on Twitter: ‘Listen…. @dmorey does NOT speak for the @HoustonRockets. Our presence in Tokyo is all about the promotion of the @NBA internationally and we are NOT a political organization.’
The Houston Rockets’ Chinese sponsor and a Chinese sportswear maker had already suspended work with the basketball team.
Although Rockets general manager Daryl Morey quickly deleted the tweet, sportswear brand Li-Ning and sponsor Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPD Bank) Credit Card Center said on Sunday they were suspending cooperation with it.
The Chinese Basketball Association, headed by former Rockets star center Yao Ming, pictured, said it would suspend cooperation with the Rockets and said Sunday via its official social media that it ‘strongly disagrees’ with Morey’s ‘improper remarks’ regarding Hong Kong
The Rockets are widely followed in China, partly because they drafted the Chinese basketball player Yao Ming in 2002, who became a star for them and helped build the NBA’s following there. Greek player Theodoros Papaloukas and China’s Yao Ming battle in 2006
The Rockets are widely followed in China, partly because they drafted the Chinese basketball player Yao Ming in 2002, who became a star for them and helped build the NBA’s following there.
‘We want to express our indignation and strong condemnation,’ read a statement from Li-Ning, published on the Twitter-like Weibo platform. ‘We have already stopped our cooperation with the Houston Rockets, and continue to urge them to give a clear answer on this matter.’
China’s SPD Bank also said on Sunday that it has suspended related marketing activities and publicity.
‘SPD Bank Credit Card Center expresses strong protest and opposition to the wrong remarks made by Houston Rockets’ General Manager Daryl Morey,’ the bank said in a statement on its Weibo account.
Neither statements said whether the decisions were permanent.
Fans took to Twitter Sunday in the wake of the league’s response to the Houston Rockets general manager’s now deleted tweet which consisted of an image of the activists’ rally cry: ‘Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong’
The pressure on the Houston Rockets has not purely been about business.
Shortly after the announcement by both businesses, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV’s sports channel also said it would suspend any further broadcasts of the Rockets’ matches starting Sunday.
The Chinese consulate general in Houston also issued a statement Sunday, condemning Morey’s remarks.
He said it had ‘made stern representations to the Rockets and requested them to clarify, to immediately correct any mistakes, and to eliminate any negative influences’.
Basketball fans in China voiced criticism of the Rockets on Weibo.
‘I watched the Rockets for 21 years, but I’m still a Chinese person first and foremost,’ said one user in response to the basketball association’s announcement.
Another said: ‘We Chinese basketball fans call on either Morey to apologize or the Rockets to fire Morey. If this doesn’t happen, then we call on fans to boycott watching Rockets games.’
The timing of this is particularly awkward for the NBA. China has teams in the U.S. playing preseason games this week, the Rockets are about to play two games in Japan and the Los Angeles Lakers – with one of the biggest global sports stars in LeBron James – and Brooklyn Nets set to play Thursday in Shanghai and Saturday in Shenzhen, China.
And fostering strong relationships with China has been a priority of the NBA for at least three decades.
The NBA has a China office, just announced plans to add a gaming team in Shanghai to the NBA 2K League, and officials in both countries say as many as 500 million Chinese watched at least one NBA game last season.
Several NBA players – including major current and former stars like Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant – go to China annually to promote their individual brands, and the World Cup held in China earlier this summer saw countless fans attending in NBA jerseys.
That underscores Beijing’s extreme sensitivity about foreign attitudes toward the ongoing protests that have lately grown in violence. China accuses foreign parties in the U.S. and elsewhere of encouraging the demonstrations.
Anti riot police disperse protesters during the Anti-ERO (Emergency Regulations Ordinance) protest against a newly imposed law banning face masks in public in Hong Kong Sunday
Protestors make fire to block traffic in Hong Kong on Sunday. Protests continued raging this weekend after the shooting of a 14-year-old boy Friday night – the second protest victim of police gunfire – stoked fears of more bloody confrontations
The protests that started in June over a now-shelved extradition bill have since snowballed into an anti-China campaign amid anger over what many view as Beijing’s interference in Hong Kong’s autonomy that was granted when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Protests continued raging this weekend after the shooting of a 14-year-old boy Friday night – the second protest victim of police gunfire – stoked fears of more bloody confrontations. An 18-year-old protester was shot at close range by a riot officer last week. He was charged with rioting and assaulting police, while the younger teen was arrested.
China has pushed strongly for international companies to adhere to its views on the protests.
Cathay Pacific lost two executives after the government warned the Hong Kong airline that its employees would be barred from flying over or to the mainland if they joined the protests.
After being criticized by Chinese social media users, Fashion brands Givenchy, Versace and Coach apologized for selling T-shirts that showed Hong Kong, as well as the Chinese territory of Macau and self-ruled Taiwan, as separate countries.
Last year, 20 airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa and Air Canada changed their websites to call Taiwan part of China under orders from the Chinese regulator. The White House called the demand ‘Orwellian nonsense.’