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Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai says the damage from Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s tweet showing support for pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong “will take a long time to repair.”

Houston Rockets blasted by Chinese basketball officials over Hong Kong tweet
Tsai, co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, said in an open letter posted on his Facebook page that he felt the need to address the matter as someone who had spent his professional life in China.

“When I bought controlling interest in the Brooklyn Nets in September, I didn’t expect my first public communication with our fans would be to comment on something as politically charged and grossly misunderstood as the way hundreds of millions of Chinese NBA fans feel about what just happened,” Tsai wrote.

On Friday, Morey tweeted a shout-out to protesters in Hong Kong.

“Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong,” Morey wrote in the now-deleted tweet.

The Chinese Basketball Association fired back its “strong opposition” to Morey’s “improper remarks regarding Hong Kong.”

Enlarge ImageDaryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets.
Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston RocketsAP
In his post, Tsai said that freedom to express one’s opinion “is an inherent American value and the NBA has been very progressive in allowing players and other constituents a platform to speak out on issues.

“The problem is, there are certain topics that are third-rail issues in certain countries, societies and communities,” he said. “Supporting a separatist movement in a Chinese territory is one of those third-rail issues, not only for the Chinese government, but also for all citizens in China.”

He continued: “The one thing that is terribly misunderstood, and often ignored, by the western press and those critical of China is that 1.4 billion Chinese citizens stand united when it comes to the territorial integrity of China and the country’s sovereignty over her homeland. This issue is non-negotiable.”

Tsai went on to cite China’s Opium Wars with the British and Japan’s invasion of China as historical examples for why the country’s psyche has “heavy baggage” toward threats to sovereignty.

Enlarge ImageA protester tosses a tear gas pellet during a recent demonstration in Hong Kong.
A protester tosses a tear gas canister during a recent demonstration in Hong Kong.EPA
“I don’t know Daryl personally. I am sure he’s a fine NBA general manager, and I will take at face value his subsequent apology that he was not as well informed as he should have been. But the hurt this incident has caused will take a long time to repair,” wrote Tsai, who was born in Taiwan, holds a Canadian passport and studied in the US.

In response to Morey’s tweet, Chinese hoops officials cut links with the Rockets, which has had ties with China since drafting native son Yao Ming.

“I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China,” Morey said in a series of damage-control tweets late Sunday. “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.”

Prokorov wrote:Joe Tsai can go fck himself.

bring back proky

kamaze wrote:
Morey didn't realize how serious it is in China.

A protester tosses a tear gas canister during a recent demonstration in Hong Kong.

ecuhus1981 wrote:I'm not playing devil's advocate simply for argument's sake. We really are out of our depth here, gents.

I can't say that Morey was morally or even professionally wrong for issuing his tweet. As the GM of the team with the largest Chinese fanbase of any NBA franchise, he should have known that Hong Kong independence would be a charged topic. Liberation/separatism (depending on your POV) is a very thorny, complicated issue. Let's inform ourselves before passing judgment, on China or Tsai.

Speaking of Joe, no matter how his response strikes you, you should concede that he probably knows more about the issue than all of us combined. Also, as a new governor of Chinese descent, he probably recognized that his voice was uniquely positioned to bring the two sides together. Plus, if any team is in line to receive a boost in fan support from Chinese citizens that no longer follow Houston, it's us. Joe is a billionaire for a reason, and it reminds me of an old business axiom: when there's blood in the streets, buy land.

MrDollarBills wrote:Free speech is a right in this country, even if we don't like what the person is saying. Free speech doesn't absolve people of consequences for what they say, and I believe Morey faced the consequences of his freedom to voice support for the protesters in Hong Kong.

Americans are pig headed and we do indeed have a slew of human rights issues that predate Donald Trump to be very frank.

That being said, what gives the Chinese government the right to dictate what an American citizen can or cannot say? This is why Joe Tsai drew the ire of NBA fans with his comments. Being in support of the CCG trying to impose their own dictatorial tactics onto a citizen of the US is an indefensible position. If he is so compromised by his business dealings in China that he has to become a mouthpiece and a stooge for Xi then maybe he shouldn't own the team.

SpeedyG wrote:

MrDollarBills wrote:Free speech is a right in this country, even if we don't like what the person is saying. Free speech doesn't absolve people of consequences for what they say, and I believe Morey faced the consequences of his freedom to voice support for the protesters in Hong Kong.

Americans are pig headed and we do indeed have a slew of human rights issues that predate Donald Trump to be very frank.

That being said, what gives the Chinese government the right to dictate what an American citizen can or cannot say? This is why Joe Tsai drew the ire of NBA fans with his comments. Being in support of the CCG trying to impose their own dictatorial tactics onto a citizen of the US is an indefensible position. If he is so compromised by his business dealings in China that he has to become a mouthpiece and a stooge for Xi then maybe he shouldn't own the team.

So one of the Chinese Twitter accounts brought up kind of what I was mentioning in the other thread.

Donald Sterling was forced out because of his racist acts/comments.

His freedom of speech was protected as an American, but the obvious backlash resulted in him paying the price for it.

Similarly, Morey's freedom of speech is protected as an American, he's not going to jail or anything for it.

But why isn't he paying the price for it, even though he offended a large portion of people/consumers?

Isn't it because the group of people he offended are not Americans?

If Morey had said half the things Trump has said (good people on both sides, players kneeling, blue lives matter, etc...)

You think he still has a job right now?

My guess is no.
Sent from my SM-G925T using RealGM mobile app

"We believe that any speech challenging a country's national sovereignty and social stability is not within the scope of freedom of speech," CCTV added.

newsletter wrote:…
Where do you think he got the tear gas canister?
We've seen police/CCP disguised as violent protesters. I have to think that a lot of the violent protestors are CCP plants. The protests started off really peaceful. A little bit of violence on the protestors side gives an excuse for the police to be more forceful.

ecuhus1981 wrote:Mods, you gutted my brilliant pun by combining threads?

ecuhus1981 wrote:Tsai's = size

MrDollarBills wrote:Free speech is a right in this country, even if we don't like what the person is saying. Free speech doesn't absolve people of consequences for what they say, and I believe Morey faced the consequences of his freedom to voice support for the protesters in Hong Kong.

Americans are pig headed and we do indeed have a slew of human rights issues that predate Donald Trump to be very frank.

That being said, what gives the Chinese government the right to dictate what an American citizen can or cannot say? This is why Joe Tsai drew the ire of NBA fans with his comments. Being in support of the CCG trying to impose their own dictatorial tactics onto a citizen of the US is an indefensible position. If he is so compromised by his business dealings in China that he has to become a mouthpiece and a stooge for Xi then maybe he shouldn't own the team.

GTR11 wrote:

MrDollarBills wrote:Free speech is a right in this country, even if we don't like what the person is saying. Free speech doesn't absolve people of consequences for what they say, and I believe Morey faced the consequences of his freedom to voice support for the protesters in Hong Kong.

Americans are pig headed and we do indeed have a slew of human rights issues that predate Donald Trump to be very frank.

That being said, what gives the Chinese government the right to dictate what an American citizen can or cannot say? This is why Joe Tsai drew the ire of NBA fans with his comments. Being in support of the CCG trying to impose their own dictatorial tactics onto a citizen of the US is an indefensible position. If he is so compromised by his business dealings in China that he has to become a mouthpiece and a stooge for Xi then maybe he shouldn't own the team.

https://www.msnbc.com/stephanie-ruhle/watch/turkey-begins-airstrikes-and-operations-in-northern-syria-70917189737
This were US first allies during fight vs ISIS. Now they left outside. You also add the fact White House declassified Presidents conversation for political reasons, plus elections around the corner. China sees US facing political crisis while trade war is on going. It will be ugly until after elections. Also Proky is Putin's puppet just like Mark Zuckerberg US government's. Sorry buddy when they say sports beyond politics it's pure bulls***. Soon enough it'll all quite down and things will go back to usual.