In the wake of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) suspending its relationship with the Houston Rockets over a tweet that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey sent out, there’s a chance that Morey’s job could be in danger over the incident, The Ringer’s John Gonzalez reports.
As Gonzalez reports, “Rockets ownership has ‘absolutely discussed’ whether Morey should be removed as general manager in an attempt to mitigate the fallout, appease the Chinese government and business interests, and re-establish ties.”
Of course, discussions and actual action are two completely different things. As such, The Athletic’s Sam Amick tweeted out a report that refutes Gonzalez’s story and says Morey’s job isn’t at risk.
Morey finds himself in all of this hot water because of a tweet he sent out late Friday evening that had the message “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.”
The Rockets GM deleted the tweet, but the damage was already done, so to speak, with swift action by the CBA, whose chairman Yao Ming played all eight seasons of his NBA career with Houston, suspending their co-operation with the Rockets and Tencent, the Chinese digital rights holder of the NBA, announcing it was suspending all coverage of the Rockets.
China is viewed as an incredibly important market for the NBA and as such, Morey’s tweet has caused such a stir that the NBA officially addressed the matter late Sunday.
Morey, himself took to Twitter again Sunday evening, saying he didn’t mean to offend and that he has since heard and considered other perspectives in regards to the ongoing, and increasingly violent, protests occurring in Hong Kong.
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.
— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) October 7, 2019
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