The drama between the NBA and China entered its latest chapter on Monday night, when Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James broke his silence on the matter.
LeBron James on if Daryl Morey should be reprimanded for his tweet pic.twitter.com/6hCE8vCyNn
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 15, 2019
“I don’t want to get into a feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn’t educated on the situation at hand and he spoke,” James said. “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 but it can be a lot of negative that comes with that too.”
The response created an instant fervor on social media, spurring James to tweet out in an attempt to clarify his initial words.
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
My team and this league just went through a difficult week. I think people need to understand what a tweet or statement can do to others. And I believe nobody stopped and considered what would happen. Could have waited a week to send it.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 15, 2019
James and the Lakers recently returned from China, where they played two preseason games amidst the controversy that was incited by Houston Rockets general manager Morey. That controversy began earlier this month when Morey tweeted out a message of support to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
Now that James has made his opinion on the matter known, it will be fascinating to see how the league at large responds.
