Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweets support for Hong Kong protestors; Chinese Basketball Association responds by cutting ties with the Rockets

moonbathers
2019-10-07T18:10:48Z

Apologies for the title, it's not worded that well but I don't know how to word it better. In addition to the CBA cutting ties with the Rockets, Tencent will no longer report on the team or show their games. The Rockets have been China's favorite NBA team ever since Yao Ming was drafted by them in 2002. He is now president of the CBA, but that doesn't say anything about what input he had into these decisions. The Rockets are also one of the main contenders for the championship going into this year since Russell Westbrook was traded to them over the summer. They also have the storyline of Westbrook and former teammate and longtime friend James Harden being reunited after three seasons together on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Here are a few articles/references about the subject:

ESPN article

Yahoo Sports

Tweets by Tencent's former Rockets reporter

ESPN article about team owner Tillman Fertitta tweeting disagreement with Morey

Edit to add another article: Chinese consulate in Houston statement

NYT article

Nike pulled all Rockets gear from their Chinese web store

An open letter in support of China from Joe Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets, posted on r/nba. Original on Facebook linked at the bottom

Rockets star James Harden says 'sorry' to China over Morey's tweet

NBA reporter Shams Charania says the league is not punishing Morey

Slate article about the incident

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