Daryl Morey on Support for Hong Kong Protests: ‘I’m Very Comfortable with What I Did’

Former Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey now claims that he stands behind the pro-democracy tweet that brought such turmoil to the NBA despite the troubles it started.

Last year, Morey was excoriated by the NBA, and China after tweeting his support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. “Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong,” the tweet said. This year he stepped down from his position with the team and has been brought on by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Still, Morey apologized for the tweet and deleted it only a few days after sending it. However, now Morey says he stands behind the pro-democracy tweet.

ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan spoke to the former Rockets boss who claims that he feared getting fired after the Chinese raised a ruckus over his pro-democracy tweet.

“In the last 12 months, I had moments where I thought I might never work in the NBA again, for reasons I was willing to go down for,” Morey said. “But I love working, I love what I do, and I didn’t want that to happen.”

The NBA GM was also asked about how he feels about the tweet today. “I’m very comfortable with what I did,” he replied.

Morey, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, said he worried for his safety in the wake of his Twitter controversy.

“I was actually really, really worried about that,” Morey said. “Luckily I had [access to] different people who were assisting me with that and giving me advice on how to handle it. “Hopefully, I’ve been able to get where we have some level of safety.

“But I was extremely concerned. You don’t want the second-most powerful government on Earth mad at you if you can avoid it. In this case, I couldn’t,” he added.

Morey may be back to standing up for his pro-democracy tweet after his “apology” and deletion, but most in the NBA are still standing behind their criticism and their support for their Chinese partners. In the week after China attacked Morey’s tweet, a group of players had demanded that NBA chief Adam Silver fire Morey from the league.

Stars, including LeBron James, rushed to China’s side despite the despotic nation’s brutal treatment of the pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong. Even former NBA star Charles Barkley defended James for choosing avarice over freedom.

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