Falcon Points
At look at why Daryl Morey's Hong Kong tweet started a firestorm in China and the U.S.
Oct 7, 2019, 1:19 pm
Falcon Points
It started out easily enough. Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweeted out support for protestors in Hong Kong, a since-deleted missive that stated "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong."
The reaction was immediate. Owner Tilman Fertitta tweeted out his own response: "Listen....@dmorey does NOT speak for the @HoustonRockets. Our presence in Tokyo is all about the promotion of the @NBA internationally and we are NOT a political organization. @espn https://twitter.com/dmorey/status/1180312072027947008"
James Harden apologized. The NBA apologized in its own statement, saying Morey's comments "have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable."
Their statement added:
"While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the 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."
Morey himself had to dial it back. In a two part tweet, he said: "I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China. I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives. I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors have provided and I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention. My tweets are my own and in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA."
That, of course, would not be the end of it.
The Rockets immediately lost Chinese sponsors. Their games have been dropped from Chinese TV. The Chinese consulate in Houston weighed in. "We have lodged representations and expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Houston Rockets, and urged the latter to correct the error and take immediate concrete measures to eliminate the adverse impact,'' the office said in a statement.
After the NBA apologized, the issue got political in the U.S. It even managed to unite politicians on the opposite side of the spectrum.
Republican Ted Cruz tweeted out this:
"As a lifelong @HoustonRockets fan, I was proud to see @dmorey call out the Chinese Communist Party's repressive treatment of protestors in Hong Kong. Now, in pursuit of big $$, the @nba is shamefully retreating."
Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke, who ran against Cruz for senator in Texas, tweeted: "The only thing the NBA should be apologizing for is their blatant prioritization of profits over human rights. What an embarrassment."
Imagine an issue where these two are on the same side.
Nets owner Joseph Tsai ripped into Morey as well. "When I bought controlling interest in the Brooklyn Nets in September, I didn't expect my first public communication with our fans would be to comment on something as politically charged and grossly misunderstood as the way hundreds of millions of Chinese NBA fans feel about what just happened." He said expressing one's opinion "is an inherent American value and the NBA has been very progressive in allowing players and other constituents a platform to speak out on issues. The problem is, there are certain topics that are third-rail issues in certain countries, societies and communities. Supporting a separatist movement in a Chinese territory is one of those third-rail issues, not only for the Chinese government, but also for all citizens in China. The one thing that is terribly misunderstood, and often ignored, by the western press and those critical of China is that 1.4 billion Chinese citizens stand united when it comes to the territorial integrity of China and the country's sovereignty over her homeland. This issue is non-negotiable."
The Chinese market is very important to the NBA and its ownership, as the league is heavily invested. China pulling out of the league would be damaging. The NBA knows this. But many see the league's backtracking as a way to preserve the business relationship, a move that seems to contradict most of the league's political stances in the United States, hence the responses from U.S. politicians.
The Chinese government has been very sensitive to the outside interpretations of the protests, and their response to this is in no small part due to that.
There are many on the Chinese side calling for Morey to be fired in order to do business with the Rockets again. This won't happen; as much as Fertitta was displeased with the tweet, he is a big Morey supporter. And to fire him would likely cause a serious backlash in Houston, where Rockets fans revere Morey. It would also give the impression that he is siding with Chinese interests over the United States, fair or not. Fertitta is too smart for that. Morey in no way intended to cause such a firestorm. Had he known the response, he would have never tweeted that out.
The problem is, the freedoms we enjoy in the United States do not translate to other countries, especially China, where social media and political views are restricted.
Realistically, sports fans - especially the ones in Houston - don't care about any of this. It will only matter to them if Morey were fired, which is not going to happen. Fans care more about the Astros playoffs, Texans with a big win, and how the Rockets will look with Russell Westbrook and and James Harden. The problem is the story has gotten outside the realm of sports, with politicians weighing in and CNN reporting on it. When that happens, hyperbole and political stances become the order of the day. You would hope it would blow over, but time will tell.
One thing is for sure: Morey did not want this. Fertitta and the NBA did not want it. But it has become a firestorm, one that has a lot of levels.
It also goes to one of the dangers of social media; a high-profile person might have a personal Twitter account, but you also represent your organization, and your tweets reflect on them. It also shows the danger of "bumper sticker" tweets, where complicated issues are often foolishly reduced to buzz words. If there is a mistake here, it's that Morey did not recognize he represents the Rockets and NBA. It's obvious he does now.
What happens next is anyone's guess. But if this is like other politically charged topics, it probably will not go away anytime soon.
Moments after Jose Altuve was ejected for taking off his left cleat and sock trying to prove a point, his replacement, Grae Kessinger scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and then made a sensational play at second base to seal the Houston Astros' wild 4-3 win against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.
Jose Altuve was ejected after taking off his sock and cleat to show where the ball hit him 😅
(via @SpaceCityHN) pic.twitter.com/4thx1F7Rpz
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 18, 2024
Altuve grounded out to third for the final out of the ninth but insisted he had fouled the ball off his foot. In a crazy scene, he took off his cleat and sock, trying to show the umpires where the ball hit, which got him ejected by plate umpire Brennan Miller. Manager Joe Espada was tossed after continuing to argue.
“Sometimes you get hit somewhere in the hand and you take your batting glove to show you got hit. I was expecting to do the same thing,” Altuve said.
“It was going through my head that it can’t happen,” he added. “It’s the ninth inning, winning run on second base, I’m battling against a good pitcher, (Robert) Suarez, the closer, so I’m obviously trying to get a hit and drive the run in and win the game. I get a foul ball because it hit my foot and they just took it away from me. I don’t think that can happen. There are four guys on the field and you can see the change of direction on the ball. Just make the right call.”
Espada was still wound up afterward.
“It’s a foul ball,” the manager said. “You have to see the ball once he hits the foot, the flight of the ball. I don’t get it. I don’t understand. That’s twice this year. I have a lot of respect for the umpires. They work hard. But there are four out there. You have to be able to see it. They missed that call.”
Kessinger started the 10th as the automatic runner in place of Altuve, advanced on Yordan Alvarez’s groundout and scored on Kyle Tucker’s single to left off Adrian Morejon (2-2).
Tuck gives us the lead! pic.twitter.com/oYQyZZFlWB
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 18, 2024
Astros reliever Héctor Neris loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 10th before getting Manny Machado to ground into a force play on a terrific backhanded stop by Kessinger, who flipped the ball to shortstop Jeremy Peña to end it.
WHAT A PLAY GRAE KESSINGER!!!🤯 pic.twitter.com/VEfOnH6TFC
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 18, 2024
It was Kessinger’s first game with the Astros since July 13.
“Right before he hit it, I was thinking he’s going to hit a ball up the middle and it’s going to hit off the mound, and that’s exactly what happened. But go catch it. That’s the job,” Kessinger said.
He figured he was going to get into the game after Altuve was tossed.
“As he started to untie his shoe, I started to grab my glove. I didn’t know if I was the one that was going to be going in, but I didn’t know what he was doing, but I was just getting ready,” Kessinger said.
The Padres twice rallied to tie the game, first at 2-2 on Machado's 27th homer with one out in the sixth and at 3-3 in the eighth when Fernando Tatis Jr. scored on Josh Hader's two-out wild pitch.
Hader (8-7) came on to boos and was called for a pitch clock violation. After a lengthy delay it was announced there was no violation. Hader then threw a wild pitch that brought in Tatis.
Hader was with the Padres from the 2022 trade deadline through last year before leaving as a free agent. He drew the ire of San Diego fans when he said late last season that he was reluctant to get more than three outs.
Neris earned his 18th save.
The Padres failed to add to their wild-card lead over Arizona and remained 3 1/2 games behind Los Angeles in the NL West.
Machado admired his 405-foot homer for several seconds, tossed his bat aside and gestured toward the Padres’ dugout as he began his trot.
Last week, Machado broke Nate Colbert’s 50-year-old club record of 163 homers and now has 165 in his six seasons with the Padres.
Hunter Brown had retired nine straight batters before Tatis hit a leadoff single two batters ahead of Machado.
The Astros took a 3-2 lead in the eventful eighth. Alvarez doubled into the right-center gap with one out, advanced on a balk by Jason Adams while Kyle Tucker was batting and scored on Adams' wild pitch that put Alex Bregman on with a walk.
The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Singles by Tucker and Bregman put runners on first and second before Jon Singleton lofted an opposite-field blooper to left for a run-scoring double. Jeremy Peña's groundout brought in Bregman.
Brown allowed two runs and five hits in six innings.
King struck out seven in seven innings. He was charged with two runs and five hits.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: Placed OF Ben Gamel on the 10-day injured list with a broken left leg three days after he ran into the wall at Angel Stadium while making a running catch. Gamel will be out indefinitely. C César Salazar was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Padres: Luis Arraez was back at DH despite jamming a knee into home plate while being thrown out Monday night.
UP NEXT
Astros LHP Framber Valdez (14-6, 2.91 ERA) and Padres RHP Dylan Cease (13-11, 3.58 ERA) are scheduled to start on Wednesday.