Photos: Hong Kong Protesters Burn LeBron James Jerseys After China Comments

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey triggered an avalanche of reactions with his support for Hong Kong protesters, and China almost suspended NBA games in Shenzhen and Shanghai. LeBron James joined the debate, and shared his opinion. According to him, Morey wasn’t educated about China before posting his tweet.

Protesters weren’t really happy about it.

“I think that’s another situation that should stay behind closed doors,” the Lakers star told media members.

LeBron called out Morey for his selfish tweet.

“We all talk about this freedom of speech. Yes, we all do have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you’re not thinking about others and you’re only thinking about yourself,” LeBron said.

“I don’t want to get into a word or sentence feud with Daryl Morey but I believe he wasn’t educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke. And, so many people could have been harmed, not only financially but physically, emotionally, spiritually. So, just be careful what we tweet and what we say, and what we do. Even though yes, we do have freedom of speech, but there can be a lot of negative that comes with that too.”

Lakers’ LeBron James on NBA’s China controversy: “I don’t want to get into a … feud with Daryl Morey but I believe he wasn’t educated on the situation at hand and he spoke.” pic.twitter.com/KKrMNU0dKR

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) October 15, 2019

When asked about why he thinks the Rockets GM is uneducated, LeBron said, “That’s just my belief. I don’t know. That’s my belief. That’s all I can say. I believe he was either misinformed or not really educated on the situation. And, if he was, then so be it, but I have no idea. That’s just my belief that when you say things or do things and you know the people can be affected by it, and the families and the individuals and everyone that can be affected by it, sometimes things can be changed. And, also sometimes social media is not always the proper way to go about things as well. But, that’s just my belief.”

Some fans were really upset with these comments, and the superstar defended his opinion.

“Let me clear up the confusion,” LeBron said … “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.

“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.”