LeBron James finally spoke about the situation in Hong Kong, but the formerly woke superstar ripped Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey for being “uneducated” on the issue and he warned on the consequences of free speech:
LeBron James rips Daryl Morey, says Morey was uneducated. Says, “We do have freedom of speech, but there can be a lot of negatives that come with that too.” Really. pic.twitter.com/ZTw6a3FZ5n
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) October 15, 2019
All joke, no woke. This is the same guy who tweeted this?
-Injustice Anywhere Is A Threat To Justice Everywhere- Our Lives Begin To End The Day We Become Silent About Things That Matter- #ThankYouMLK50
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 15, 2018
LeBron later took to Twitter to “clear up the confusion,” but as you can say, he just made it worse:
Let me clear up the confusion. I do not believe there was any consideration for the consequences and ramifications of the tweet. I’m not discussing the substance. Others can talk About that.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 15, 2019
Guys, the multi-millionaire had a “tough week.” Thoughts and prayers, LeBron:
My team and this league just went through a difficult week. I think people need to understand what a tweet or statement can do to others. And I believe nobody stopped and considered what would happen. Could have waited a week to send it.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 15, 2019
Keep in mind this is all Morey tweeted and that’s what set China off:
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Reminder that this was the extent of Daryl Morey's tweet pic.twitter.com/hmSw3M1TaL
— Peter J. Hasson (@peterjhasson) October 15, 2019
And, LeBron, we’re not confused:
lol there's no confusion https://t.co/YrtiTN2Y3Y
— your pal andy (@andylevy) October 15, 2019
We are so sorry for your pain. Not as sorry as those imprisoned in Chinese re-education camps, but pretty sorry.
— Nick Searcy, INTERNATIONAL THOUGHT LEADER & STAR (@yesnicksearcy) October 15, 2019
LeBron to the NBA: “SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE”:
What happened to Lebron James? When Laura Ingraham told him to "shut up and dribble" I defended him. But now he essentially tells everyone in the NBA to "shut up and dribble" because an actual tyrannical government in China is making him richer. Hypocrite @KingJames.
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) October 15, 2019
Keep in mind, Morey has an MBA from MIT, so he’s not exactly “uneducated”:
Is it elitist to point out Daryl Morey went to both Northwestern & MIT, when LeBron calls him uneducated? I feel like that’s a woke twitter move. You have to be ashamed and never mention your degrees. But seriously..I feel as though Morey is profoundly more educated on this.
— Britt McHenry (@BrittMcHenry) October 15, 2019
Or how about the difficult week Nike workers in China had making his shoes and such?
LeBron James now claims that he had a "difficult week" earning millions of dollars to play basketball because someone promoted freedom for Hong Kong@KingJames, do you think the millions of people locked up in China's communist concentration camps are having a good week? https://t.co/p9pMZ1a2N0
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 15, 2019
Over to you, ESPN:
Would love to see prominent sports journalists — cough, @espn — call out @KingJames for his ignorance. Make it clear to viewers, especially young viewers, that Morey was right and LeBron is dead wrong.
But they won't. Because it's all about the bottom line for them, too.
— Tim Alberta (@TimAlberta) October 15, 2019
More criticism of LeBron:
LeBron clarifies his tweet isn't a critique of the substance of Morey's tweet, but the *consequences* of tweeting it while teams/personnel were abroad.
This means he also refuses to take a position on a moral layup, which is a position, anyway, and a mealy mouthed one at that. https://t.co/t2LDzYsY7i
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) October 15, 2019
This, of course, isn’t remotely what LeBron said. He called Morey misinformed and not really educated on the situation, which doesn’t jive at all with what he’s saying now. Nice walk back attempt, but no. https://t.co/q96IzG3e7A
— T.J. Moe (@TJMoe28) October 15, 2019
Why won't you talk about the substance of Daryl Morey's tweet? Why won't you say the words, "I agree with Daryl that the people of Hong Kong should have freedom of speech and the right to protest"? https://t.co/N1pjW9boKo
— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) October 15, 2019
I'm so sorry for the difficult time you are having. Maybe you can wipe your tears with your freedom and millions of dollars while the Uighurs suffer.
— Jessica Fletcher (@heckyessica) October 15, 2019
Uighurs don't have enough money to buy his jerseys anyway.
— jon gabriel (@exjon) October 15, 2019
So @KingJames says the ONE GUY who spoke up for freedom and liberty and against tyranny "wasn't educated on the issue?"
You mean, he needs to be re-educated?
This is an embarrassment. https://t.co/GWMNvu0pHi
— Larry O'Connor (@LarryOConnor) October 15, 2019
Educate us then, @KingJames. What do you know about China that we don’t? We know about the Chinese imprisonment, torture & execution of Christians and Muslims. We know about the jailing of dissenters. We know the violent threats toward Hong Kong. What are we missing, Wise One? https://t.co/tOPdHng3xm
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) October 15, 2019
Is anyone surprised by these remarks from LeBron James? It’s all about $ for him and zero loyalty. We saw how he abandoned Cleveland for Miami. Now, he’s willing to abandon America’s free speech in exchange for China’s $. https://t.co/6g3zwyEVDm
— Elizabeth Heng (@ElizabethHeng) October 15, 2019
This is so bad, so unAmerican, that it would have been better for coward @KingJames to have remained silent. https://t.co/dX6LngozWN
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) October 15, 2019
Transcript here:
Here is LeBron on his belief that Daryl Morey "wasn't informed" on the situation in China, and his thoughts on the consequences that come with free speech pic.twitter.com/JOVRSDzCIg
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) October 15, 2019
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