NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Chinese officials wanted Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey to be fired for his tweet supporting anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, and the league emphatically dismissed the request.
Silver also said that the league is already feeling "substantial" financial losses because of the Chinese reaction to Morey's deleted tweet.
"Obviously, we made clear that we were being asked to fire him by the Chinese government, by the parties we dealt with, government and business," Silver said Thursday during an appearance at the Time 100 Health Summit in New York. "We said, 'There's no chance that's happening. There's no chance we'll even discipline him.'"
A demonstrator holds a U.S. flag during a rally at the Southorn Playground in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. Protesters in Hong Kong have thrown basketballs at a photo of LeBron James and chanted their anger about comments the Los Angeles Lakers star made about free speech during a rally in support of NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, whose tweet in support of the Hong Kong protests touched off a firestorm of controversy in China. (AP PhotoMark Schiefelbein)
The league and LeBron James, one of its biggest stars, has been heavily criticized by some U.S. lawmakers for the perception that they caved to the Chinese regime. Morey has not been rebuked publicly by the league, and Silver has said that the league will support his freedom of expression.
"We wanted to make an absolute clear statement that the values of the NBA, these American values — we are an American business — travel with us wherever we go, and one of those values is free expression," Silver said. "We wanted to make sure everyone understood we were supporting free expression."
The Rockets were of massive interest in China, largely because of Yao Ming — the Chinese star who spent his entire NBA career in Houston. Yao is now the president of the Chinese Basketball Association, which has suspended its ties to the Rockets because of the tweet.
Morey has not commented publicly since a pair of tweets on Oct. 6 attempting to clarify his position.
"I understand there is a point of view from some that we shouldn't be in business at all in China, and I'd say from an intellectual standpoint, that's fair — not getting into whether the tweet or the response to it," Silver said.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV did not air the two NBA preseason games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets last week. Tencent, which has a $1.5 billion deal to stream NBA games in China over the next five years, has also stopped showing Rockets games but has not totally dropped all NBA content.
"The losses have already been substantial," Silver said. "Our games are not back on the air in China, as we speak, and we'll see what happens next."
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