LEBURN JAMES
NBA star’s double drivel on China enflames Hong Kong protesters
Protesters in Hong Kong set ablaze LeBron James’ Miami Heat jersey after current Lakers star’s comments about free speech.
Not since he took his talents to South Beach have basketball fans been so irate about hoops legend LeBron James, whose cavalier comments about free speech set off a new round of controversy Tuesday over the NBA’s tenuous relationship with China.
James, voicing the political equivalent of an airball, committed a flagrant foul on the First Amendment when he said freedom of speech — more basic to American fans than basketball and all the sports put together — could have “negative” consequences.
James dribbled the ball off his foot when he weighed in on a basketball executive’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters that put the NBA on the defensive with China, a lucrative market with billions of dollars in the balance.
James made his comments in response to a question about whether Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey should be punished for a seven-word tweet — “Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong” — that set off a firestorm in China and could have financial consequences for the NBA.
The tweet was quickly deleted.
“Yes, we do have freedom of speech,” James said in China, where his Los Angeles Lakers were playing an exhibition game. “But at times, there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you’re not thinking about others, when you only think about yourself.”
Then James double dribbled, doubling down on his box out of the Bill of Rights.
“So many people could have been harmed, not only financially but physically, emotionally, spiritually. So just be careful what we tweet and what we say and what we do. Even though yes, we do have freedom of speech, it can be a lot of negative that comes with it.”
The backlash against James was quicker than a fast break, with irate fans in Hong Kong burning the superstar’s jersey and pasting his picture on backboards, where bank shots could bash his photo in the face.
“People are angry,” James Lo, a web designer who runs a Hong Kong basketball fan page on Facebook, told The Associated Press.. He said he has already received a video from a protester that showed him burning a No. 23 jersey bearing James’ name.
Lo said he expects more resentment, given the outrage from protesters who have been regularly battling police in freedom protests.
“Students, they come out like every weekend,” Lo said. “They got teargassed and then they got gun-shot, like every weekend. Police beating students and then innocent people, like every day. And then he [James] just comes up with something like that. We just can’t accept that.”
Protesters said James’ comments were a double standard, because he has used his GOAT clout to put a full-court press on social causes in the U.S.
“Please remember, all NBA players, what you said before: ‘Black lives matter,’ ” said officer worker William Mok, 36, in a speech to Hong Kong protesters. “Hong Kong lives also matter!”
James, 34, is no stranger to burning jerseys. When he snubbed his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 in favor of the Miami Heat — “I’m going to take my talents to South Beach” — fans in Ohio set fire to James’ jersey and called him names not suitable for “SportsCenter.”
But all was forgiven in Cleveland when James, an Ohio native, returned to the Cavaliers and led the team — and the city — to its first sports championship in more than 50 years.
He is not likely to rebound so quickly in Hong Kong.
“James was trying, you know, to take a side, on the China side, which is like ridiculous,” said Aaron Lee, 36, a Hong Kong marketing director. “He was being honest, financially. Financial is money. Simple as that. LeBron James stands for money. Period.”