Silver: Free speech is vital
TOKYO — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league is not apologizing for Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s sincedeleted tweet showing support for antigovernment protesters in Hong Kong, even after China’s state broadcaster canceled plans to show a pair of preseason games in that country later this week.
Silver, speaking Tuesday at a news conference in Tokyo before a preseason game between the Rockets and NBA champion Toronto Raptors, went as far as to say that he and the league are “apologetic” that so many Chinese officials and fans were upset by Morey’s tweet and comments that followed — but insisted that Morey has the right to freedom of expression.
“Daryl Morey, as general manager of the Houston Rockets, enjoys that right as one of our employees,” Silver said. “What I also tried to suggest is that I understand there are consequences from his freedom of speech and we will have to live with those consequences.”
Among those consequences: CCTV said it would not show the games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, who will play Thursday in Shanghai and Saturday in Shenzhen. Basketball is wildly popular in China and those two teams — because of LeBron James starring for the Lakers and Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba’s cofounder Joe Tsai now owning the Nets — would have been a huge draw.
“We’re strongly dissatisfied and oppose Adam Silver’s claim to support Morey’s right to freedom of expression,” CCTV said in a statement. “We believe that any remarks that challenge national sovereignty and social stability are not within the scope of freedom of speech.”
The broadcaster is also reviewing all its cooperation and exchanges involving the NBA, said the statement posted to CCTV Sports’ official social media account.
“If those are the consequences of us adhering to our values, I still feel it’s very, very important to adhere to those values,” Silver said.
Silver is going to Shanghai on Wednesday and said he hopes to meet with officials and some of the league’s business partners there in an effort to find some sort of common ground. He said he hopes Chinese officials and fans look at the totality of the impact of the threedecadeplus relationship between the league and their country.
“I’m sympathetic to our interests here and our partners that are upset,” Silver said. “I don’t think it’s inconsistent on one hand to be sympathetic to them and at the same time stand by our principles.”
The rift between China and the NBA started late last week when Morey tweeted a nowdeleted image that read: “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong,” in reference to months of prodemocracy demonstrations in the semiautonomous Chinese territory that has been mired in escalating violence between protesters and law enforcement.
Efforts were made to defuse the impact. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said Morey does not speak for the Rockets, and Morey returned to Twitter to clarify his meaning. But damage was done: One Chinese sporting goods company said it was no longer cooperating with the Rockets, NBA streaming partner Tencent — which has a $1.5 billion contract with the league over the next five seasons — said it would not show Rockets games and a sports news website in China said it was no longer covering the team.
Further complicating the matter: China’s bestknown player is Hall of Famer Yao Ming, who spent his NBA career with the Rockets. Yao is now the president of the Chinese Basketball Association, which has said it is suspending its relationship with the Rockets. The CBA also canceled plans to have the G League affiliates from Houston and Dallas play preseason games in China.
“I’m hoping that together Yao Ming and I can find an accommodation,” Silver said. “But he is extremely hot at the moment, and I understand it.”
In Tuesday’s game in Tokyo, Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and the Raptors — in their first game since winning the NBA Finals — rallied from a 17point deficit to beat the Rockets 134129. James Harden scored 34 in the game played at the Saitama Super Arena, a site for basketball at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.