9th October, 2019
The NBA has postponed media duties for the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers in China on Wednesday as the row over freedom of speech and Hong Kong intensified.
The two US basketball teams are due to play a pre-season game in Shanghai on Thursday but there are now question marks over whether the exhibition will take place.
The spat began when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey found himself in the middle of a controversy on Friday after he tweeted a since-deleted message “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.”
His tweet sparked a wave of criticism in China, where many disapprove of the Hong Kong protests for greater democracy.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said late Monday in Tokyo that his organisation supported the right of Morey to speak out.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV then announced on Tuesday it would no longer air NBA pre-season games in China.