Morey’s political tweet ignites basketball firestorm for U.S., China

BEIJING — Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tried late Sunday to defuse the rapidly growing fallout over his deleted tweet that showed support for Hong Kong anti-government protesters, saying he did not intend to offend any of the team’s Chinese fans or sponsors.

A short time after Morey posted that statement, the NBA said it was “regrettable” that the deleted tweet offended many in China. And all that followed several companies in China, including some of the NBA’s major business partners there, lashing out over Morey’s original tweet.

Morey tweeted an image that read “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” referring to the four-month-old protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. That led to Houston owner Tilman Fertitta turning to Twitter to say that Morey does not speak for the Rockets, and sparking an outcry that included the Chinese Basketball Association — whose president is Yao Ming, the former Rockets star center — saying it was suspending its relationship with the team.

Other criticism came from Tencent, a major media partner of the NBA in China with a streaming deal that is worth $1.5 billion over the next five years, and Chinese state television — both of which said they would not be showing Rockets games.

“I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China,” Morey tweeted early Monday from Japan, where Houston is playing this week. “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.”

NBA Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass said the league recognizes that Morey’s tweet offended fans in China Bass added that the league supports individuals “sharing their views on matters important to them.”

The timing is particularly awkward for the NBA, whose players have often been outspoken on social issues in the United States.

China has teams in the U.S. playing preseason games this week, the Rockets are about to play in Japan and the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets set to play Thursday in Shanghai.