At this point, Commissioner Adam Silver should just pack up and move the NBA to China, lock, stock, and barrel.

However, he would like everyone to know just how brave and wonderful and strong he is, because HE stood up to China! What did he do? Well, China apparently wanted Daryl Morey fired for the grave sin against the communist state of supporting Hong Kong. And Adam Silver? He said no. But apparently he “tried too hard” to be a diplomat and play nice because Morey had hurt so many feelings.

Silver said that the media coverage of the NBA’s response to Morey’s tweet “frankly was confusing to me when I got home [from China]. Only because I had thought we’d taken a principled position. I thought we hadn’t so-called acquiesced to the Chinese.”

The NBA’s initial statement last week used the word “regrettable,” which Silver emphasized was describing the reaction of Chinese government officials, business executives and NBA fans in China — not the content of Morey’s tweet itself. “Maybe I was trying too hard to be a diplomat,” Silver said. “I didn’t see it as my role as the commissioner of the NBA to weigh in on the substance of the protest, but to say here’s this platform” for free expression.

Yikes: @NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told @RobinRoberts today that various Chinese officials and business leaders pressured the league to fire Daryl Morey after his #HongKong tweet.

Anyone still confused about how Beijing does things? #StandWithHongKong pic.twitter.com/7Y5C9jytIA

— John Cooper (@thejcoop) October 18, 2019

Wow. How stunningly brave. It’s almost as if Adam Silver didn’t make sure that Morey’s tweet got deleted, and then left him to twist in the wind for a couple of weeks while the NBA planted their lips firmly on the buttcheek of the ChiComs, LeBron James insisted that there be some kind of “consequence,” and kept media from even reporting on the entire story, either by blocking reporters or cowing major outlets into silence. All to protect the almighty Chinese dollar. Feelings were hurt? Has Adam Silver forgotten that the NBA put out two different statments – one in Chinese and one in English – about Daryl Morey, and the Chinese one was a desperate attempt to throw Morey under the bus and kiss ass at the same time?

But Adam Silver is the brave one, because he didn’t fire Morey even though Chinese officials wanted him fired. Wow. I hope he doesn’t pull a muscle while stretching to pat himself on the back for that one.

Meanwhile, remember what LeBron James said about how Morey was “uninformed” and “selfish” for using his freedom of speech to retweet support for Hong Kong?

South Park remembers.
https://twitter.com/sportsgossip/status/1184836338807275520
Hey, everyone – THIS is how you do satire. Too bad LeBron James is so busy counting his Chinese money that he won’t even notice.

The only thing Adam Silver and the league WILL notice is loss of revenue. They’re already feeling cut off in China, with NBA games no longer being aired, and Nike stores removing Houston Rockets merchandise off the shelves in Chinese stores. It would be a shame if the seats were empty – or filled with t-shirts that support Hong Kong – here in the United States. Hey, NBA – this is the bed you made for yourselves. Time to lie in it.

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Featured image via Pixabay, Pixabay license