B8 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2019 SCORES ANALYSIS COMMENTARY
NI got off a plane Sunday afternoon
and checked my phone and saw a state-
ment from the N.B.A. apologizing to
China for something that Houston
Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey
had tweeted. What line, I
wondered, had Morey
transgressed? Had he
slurred a player? A
team?
From the perspective
of the N.B.A., the answer
was much worse: Morey had slurred a
great pile of money.
With a single tweet, quickly deleted,
Morey had expressed support for the
democracy movement in Hong Kong.
The Chinese government and the gilded
companies that act as its shadows
proclaimed their immediate outrage,
fury and hurt, so much hurt. Companies
canceled games, and a billion-dollar
contract perhaps fell into doubt.
For the N.B.A., which has been on
woke roll these past few years, it was a
head-on collision with not-so-woke
global politics and finances. And Com-
missioner Adam Silver and his market-
ing team crumpled into a fetal position.
“We recognize that the views ex-
pressed by Houston Rockets general
manager Daryl Morey have deeply
offended many of our friends and fans
in China, which is regrettable,” the
N.B.A. said in a statement Sunday
night. (The league’s Chinese-language
apology went further, calling Morey’s
message “inappropriate” and saying he
had “seriously hurt the feelings of
Chinese basketball fans.”)On Monday, Silver tried to rediscover
his spine, claiming the league’s state-
ment was supportive of Morey’s
speech, which was true if you held it up
to a reading lamp and took the most
generous interpretation possible. Silver
added that he also supported the
Brooklyn Nets owner Joseph Tsai, a
partner in China’s wealthiest e-com-
merce company, who in a Facebook
post claimed that “all citizens of China”
opposed the Hong Kong protests and
blasted Morey for a poorly informed
tweet that did not take into account
China’s hurt feelings over the Opium
Wars of the 19th century.
For now, why don’t we leave Silver
alone to sort out his thinking?
The N.B.A. faces an existential prob-
lem. For the better part of a decade, theleague’s leading players and coaches
have spoken out, often eloquently, on
issues like police brutality, gay rights,
guns and the president of the United
States. They even toppled the ret-
rograde racist owner of the Los Ange-
les Clippers.
The league capitalized handsomely.
Its audience was young, hip and politi-
cally liberal, and the N.B.A. marketed
itself as the most woke of pro leagues.
And then one of its general managers
decided to tiptoe beyond the bound-
aries of this nation.
“The league enjoys LeBron James
being a spokesman back in Akron and
Cleveland and speaking out on Ameri-
can politics,” noted Victor A. Matheson,
an economist of sports and a professor
at College of the Holy Cross. “Where itmesses with you is that the N.B.A. does
not necessarily want its folks to be
outspoken on China.”
The pro leagues, in fact, run like
bloodhounds after the scent of their fan
bases. The N.F.L. is the N.B.A.’s doppel-
gänger. Its fan base, although diverse
racially, tends toward cultural and
political conservatism. When the lords
of the N.F.L. boycotted Colin Kaeper-
nick for the crime of silently taking a
knee during the national anthem, they
could do so in the reasonable expecta-
tion that their fans would either ap-
plaud, or grumble but still buy another
sausage or team jersey.
The N.B.A.’s challenges are compli-
cated after a different fashion. To read
some of its press clippings is to guessOn China, N.B.A. Chooses Money Over Morals
MICHAEL
POWELL
SPORTS
OF THE TIMES
N.B.A. STATEMENT RELEASED IN CHINESE ON THE SOCIAL PLATFORM
SINA WEIBO, AS TRANSLATED BY THE NEW YORK TIMES‘We are extremely disappointed
in the inappropriate comment
by the General Manager of the
Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey.
‘He has undoubtedly seriously
hurt the feelings of Chinese
basketball fans. Morey has already
clarified that his comment did
not represent the stance of the
Rockets or the NBA.
‘Under the values of the
NBA, individuals can gain a
thorough understanding of the
matters that interest them and
share their views.
‘We have the utmost respect for
the history and culture of China,
and hope that sports and the NBA
can be a positive energy for unity,
continuing to build a bridge for
international cultural exchanges
and bringing people together.’
STATEMENT FROM MIKE BASS, AN N.B.A. SPOKESMAN‘There should be no discrepancy on the statement
issued earlier today. We have seen various interpretations
of the translation of the Mandarin version, but our
statement in English is the league’s official statement.’
N.B.A. STATEMENT
RELEASED IN ENGLISH‘We recognize that the views
expressed by Houston Rockets
General Manager Daryl Morey
have deeply offended many of our
friends and fans in China,
which is regrettable.
‘While Daryl has made it clear
that his tweet does not represent
the Rockets or the NBA, the
values of the league support
individuals’ educating themselves
and sharing their views on matters
important to them.
‘We have great respect for the
history and culture of China and
hope that sports and the NBA can
be used as a unifying force to
bridge cultural divides and bring
people together.’
Continued on Page B11