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We know what LeBron James said.
Oh, do we ever.
James’ comments haven’t gone over
well since he responded Monday to
questions about China and Rockets gen-
eral manager Daryl Morey’s pro-Hong
Kong tweet that instigated a crisis for
the NBA.
When James said, “I don’t want to get
in a word or sentence feud with Daryl
Morey. But I believe he wasn’t educated
on the situation at hand and he spoke,”
he should have said, “I support democ-
racy, free speech and denounce human
rights abuses throughout the world. It
wasn’t a good week for the NBA, and Da-
ryl’s tweet put the players and the
league in a challenging situation. That’s
all I have to say on the topic.”
That’s not what James said, which is
his choice, but the fallout – at least in
terms of criticism – has been signifi-
cant. It’s not known yet if there is a fi-
nancial cost, but his reputation took a
hit as his “More Than An Athlete” man-
tra runs hollow.
It’s been a while since James had a
verbal misstep like this one. You’d have
to go back to the conclusion of the 2011
NBA Finals between Miami and Dallas
when James spoke about the people
who were happy to see him fail. This is
the harshest criticism he has received
since then.
There were several approaches the
Lakers’ superstar could have taken this
week but did not.
James also said Monday: “So many
people could have been harmed, not
only physically or financially, but emo-
tionally and spiritually. Just be careful
what we tweet, what we say and what
we do. We do have freedom of speech,
but there can be a lot of negative things
that come with that too.”
He could have said: “Daryl has a right
to say what he wants, especially if he is
passionate about it, but perhaps he

didn’t foresee the impact his tweet

would have on those who had to answer

for him in Japan and China.”

He also could have said: “It was a

tense situation, but it wasn’t just the

players who were concerned. The NBA

had several staffers in China, including

a couple hundred who work for NBA

China and have to remain there after we

leave.”

And since James brought up the fi-

nancial impact, that can be addressed,

too.

Yes, the NBA and its players benefit

from the league’s partnerships with

China, and players benefit individually

based on endorsement deals. James

had three appearances canceled, and

one Lakers player had a $1 million deal

withdrawn in China, ESPN reported.

James could have said, in a brutally

honest way, he wishes to make money

for different reasons.

“Capitalism has been a part of life for

centuries, and some of the money my

teammates and I make goes back into

the community to help people,” James

could have said. “There are hundreds of

American companies who do business

in China for the sake of making signifi-

cant profit. If we want to have a larger

discussion about the cost of doing busi-

ness in China and whether that’s worth

it, that’s fine.”

James could have also said: “When

we talk about the political side, I think

it’s a very delicate situation, a very sen-

sitive situation. And for me personally,

if any you guys know me or always cover

me, you guys know when I speak about

something, I always speak about some-

thing I’m very knowledgeable about,

something that hits home for me, some-

thing I’m very passionate about. And I

felt like with this particular situation,

not only was I not informed enough

about, I just felt like it was something

that my teammates or my organization

had enough to talk about it at that time,

and we still feel the same way.”

Wait, that’s one quote James actually

said.

He also said, “I also don’t think every

issue should be everybody’s problem.”

He could have left that unspoken and

said, “There’s things that happen in my

own community in trying to help my

kids graduate high school and go off to

college. That’s been my main concern

the last couple of years with my school,

trying to make sure the inner city kids

that grow up in my hometown can have

a brighter future and look at me as an

inspiration to get out of the hellhole of

the inner city.”

Oh wait, James actually said that,

too.

But the valid points he made got lost

amid all of the other things he should

have avoided.

What LeBron could have said on China

Since returning to Los Angeles after two games in China, LeBron James has

talked more in depth about the Daryl Morey tweet. KELVIN KUO/USA TODAY SPORTS

Jeff Zillgitt

Columnist

USA TODAY

Rivalry? What rivalry?
Since the Tour Championship at East
Lake, there’s been a storyline emerging
that there’s a developing rivalry be-
tween Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy.
Koepka, as blunt as always, made it
clear he doesn’t see it that way.
The World No. 1 shut down the rivalry
talk Wednesday while in South Korea
for the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges, claiming
any talk of a rivalry between the two is a
waste of time because McIlroy hasn’t
won a major in five years.
“I’ve been out here for, what, five
years. Rory hasn’t won a major since I’ve
been on the PGA Tour. So I don’t view it
as a rivalry,” Koepka said, according to
the American Foreign Press. “I’m not
looking at anybody behind me. I’m No. 1
in the world. I’ve got open road in front
of me. I’m not looking in the rearview
mirror, so I don’t see it as a rivalry.
“You know if the fans do (call it a ri-

valry), then that’s on them and it could

be fun. Look, I love Rory. He’s a great

player and he’s fun to watch, but it’s just

hard to believe there’s a rivalry in golf. I

just don’t see it.”

Koepka, 29, finished the 2018-19 Tour

season with three wins, including last

year’s CJ Cup, and nine top-10 finishes.

He won his fourth major since turning

pro in 2012, at the PGA Championship in

May. Koepka also placed second in the

Honda Classic and U.S. Open, T-2 in the

Masters, T-4 in the British Open and T-

with Justin Thomas in the Tour Cham-

pionship behind current World No. 2

McIlroy and Xander Schauffele.

McIlroy, who finished last season

winning the Tour Championship and

joining Tiger Woods as the only two

players to win two FedExCups, hasn’t

won a major since the 2014 season,

when he won the PGA Championship

and the British Open within five weeks

of each other.

Along with his wins in the 2011 U.S.

Open and 2012 PGA Championship,

McIlroy matches Koepka with four ma-

jor tournament wins. McIlroy also

topped Koepka in last season’s PGA

Tour’s Player of the Year balloting.

McIlroy, 30, has not publicly respon-

ded to Koepka’s claim that McIlroy’s ac-

complishments aren’t worthy to be con-

sidered a rival, but in September McIl-

roy said he thought the rivalry between

himself and Koepka was good for golf.

“Brooks has been undoubtedly the

best player in the world for the last cou-

ple years. I’ve been lucky that my career

and my consistency level has been good

for the last 10,” McIlroy said. “I feel like

they’ve tried to create a rivalry between

myself and Tiger, myself and Jordan

(Spieth), myself and Dustin (Johnson),

myself and Brooks, myself and Jason

Day.

“It’s nice there’s a common denom-

inator and it’s usually me, which means

that I’m doing something right.”

Kopeka, who missed the cut in the

Shiners Hospitals for Children Open,

was set to tee off in the CJ Cup Wednes-

day night in the United States, one

month after having a stem cell proce-

dure on his left knee.

Koepka shuts down talk of rivalry with McIlroy

JuliaKate E. Culpepper
Golfweek | USA TODAY Network

Rory McIlroy, left, and Brooks Koepka

have each won four Grand Slam

tournaments. BUTCH DILL/USA TODAY SPORTS