Have you ever heard of Yao Ming? This Chinese basketball player became an international star for the NBA’s Houston Rockets, helping the professional basketball league gain popularity and influence in China and around the globe. Thanks to Yao Ming, the Rockets reaped the benefits of the huge Chinese market.
In the later stages of Yao’s career with the NBA, Daryl Morey became the general manager of the Rockets. However, the general manager of the team has changed the way that many people see the professional basketball team and the NBA, after he posted the following message on social media: “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”
Morey posted the message on the morning of Oct. 5, following a very dark night of chaos and violence in the special administrative region of Hong Kong, as radical protesters conducted extreme acts to paralyze the city and terrify its residents.
Since June, radical protesters in Hong Kong have escalated their violence against police officers and even ordinary people. They have repeatedly defaced and burned the national flag and have even called on foreign governments to interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs, challenging China’s national sovereignty and security and violating the bottom line of the “One Country, Two Systems” framework.