Silver: NBA supporting Morey, already dealing with economic impact

NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the tension between China and the Houston Rockets, which is a result of general manager Daryl Morey's now-deleted tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters.

Silver said on Monday that the league is supporting the 47-year-old executive amid the backlash and has already faced financial repercussions due to the controversy.

"There is no doubt, the economic impact is already clear," Silver told Joel Fitzpatrick of Kyodo News. "There have already been fairly dramatic consequences from that tweet, and I have read some of the media suggesting that we are not supporting Daryl Morey, but in fact we have."

Silver added: "I think as a values-based organization that I want to make it clear ... that Daryl Morey is supported in terms of his ability to exercise his freedom of expression."

Morey angered a number of corporations and fans in China by posting a tweet siding with civilians in Hong Kong, who began protesting against their government over a bill that would allow it to extradite criminals to mainland China.

The NBA said in a statement on Sunday that it welcomed Morey's expression of his views but regretted the extent to which those opinions offended Chinese fans.

"We recognize that the views expressed by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable," the release read. "While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league 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."

Silver has frequently defended NBA players who publicly campaign for social justice since he took over as commissioner in 2014. Prior to All-Star Weekend in 2018, he said he was proud of the league's stars for how they use their platform to discuss issues personal to them.

The commissioner reiterated Monday that the league prides itself on supporting its members' free speech.

"There are the values that have been part of this league from its earliest days, and that includes free expression," he told Fitzpatrick. "I accept that it is also Chinese governments' and Chinese businesses' right to react to those words and, at least from my long-time experience in the NBA, it will take some time to heal some of these issues.

"We are a platform in which people can engage and I would like to believe that for each side who believes they have a point of view here, that this engagement is positive."