The National Basketball Association (NBA) has a reputation for allowing players to speak out on issues of justice and discrimination. Some call it ‘the woke league’. However, when Houston Rockets’ GM Daryl Morey tweeted support for the Hong Kong democracy movement, his owner, some players, and his league, rebuked him and rejected his statement. Rockets player James Harden proclaimed love for China. After a bit of behind the scenes Chinese re-education, Morey, apologized that he ‘got woke’ for freedom, . Bill Whittle says the NBA reaction is the perfect epitaph for the USA tombstone.
BTW, hours after we recorded this episode, and after American politicians and commentators savaged the NBA response, Commissioner Adam Silver released a clarifying statement which included this: “…the NBA will not put itself in a position of regulating what players, employees and team owners say or will not say on these issues. We simply could not operate that way.”
(…at least not if it hurts sales of tickets and apparel.)