NBAFan93 wrote:Pennebaker wrote:ChiCitySPORTS#1 wrote:
I'm not saying I wouldnt do the same thing if I was LeBron. I'd probably go into damage control mode too if I knew if it'd affect mine and my colleagues pockets. I think most people find issue with it because we thought of him as someone who wasn't afraid to speak out against this type of thing. I'd guess privately, he doesnt support China, I would've not commented at all if I were him. He's losing fans locally tbh
I don't think he cares if he loses fans because he's standing up for his brothers. To the players it looks like this:"Man, LeBron is risking his reputation to stand for our interests. He really does care about us like he says."
And I also don't think any of us can really appreciate where the players are coming from, but their initial reaction was not about money. They feel that if one of them caused all of this, they would've been cut and blacklisted. Silver denies it, but the players don't buy it.
The financial issue is also absolutely relevant because there are a lot of lower-to-mid tier guys who get 50% of their income (or more) from China. And for a GM to threaten their livelihood unilaterally without their consent, when that GM was warned about doing that, it just feels morally wrong to them.
Imagine if someone came to you and said this:"Hey, Bob from accounting just eliminated 50% of your income because he tweeted his opinion. He was warned about doing that, but he did it anyway knowing he'd threaten your livelihood. You should be okay with it because it's for a good cause, and besides, you don't really need 50% of your income because you make enough without it."
That's not right. You wouldn't accept that and nobody else would either. And that's the basis for LeBron's criticism of Morey and also why LeBron won't condemn China. He does not have the right to do that.
These are good points. Thing is, when you look at the big picture, it really isn’t a good thing that a large chunk of so many US citizens income is dependent on a country that doesn’t share our ideals and would do something like just yank that money away over a tweet. It’s actually really scary to think about.
Guess what? Your income can be taken away for a tweet right here at home and it actually happens all the time. So the American company you work for right now doesn't really share your ideals about liberty and freedom of speech either.