Joe Faraoni/ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has broken his silence on a tweet sent by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey that prompted tensions between the NBA and China.
The tweet, sent earlier this month, read “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong” — a message supporting pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong. Morey deleted the tweet but it prompted Chinese state television and internet giant Tencent — who inked a five-year, $1.5 billion deal in August to stream NBA games in China — to announce they will not show Rockets games.
James, speaking to reporters on Monday, said he believes Morey “wasn’t educated on the situation at hand.”
“So many people could have been harmed, not only financially but physically, emotionally, spiritually, so just be careful what we tweet and we say and what we do,” the 34-year-old forward said.
James added that while we all have freedom of speech, “at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you’re not thinking about others and you only think about yourself.”
Later on Monday, James clarified his comments on Twitter, saying that he was referring to the consequences and ramifications of Morey’s tweet, not its substance.
Let me clear up the confusion. I do not believe there was any consideration for the consequences and ramifications of the tweet. I’m not discussing the substance. Others can talk About that.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 15, 2019
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