The tweet was short lived, but the controversy surrounding it has not been. Earlier this month, Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted (then quickly deleted) support for pro-Democracy protests in Hong Kong.
However, China, a major partner of the NBA, has been swift to condemn Morey's words — even calling for him to be fired.
The backlash largely consumed headlines during NBA’s preseason and now, with the season underway, it shows no signs of stopping.
This week, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal added his two cents to the mix.
"Daryl Morey was right. Whenever you see something wrong going on anywhere in the world, you should have the right to say, 'That's not right.' And that's what he did. But again, sometimes in business you have to tiptoe around things," O'Neal said Tuesday night.
O'Neal, who lives part time in Atlanta and owns several businesses around town, added "one of our best values here in America is free speech."
"We' re allowed to say what we want to say, and we're allowed to speak up about injustices, and that's just how it goes. And if people don't understand that, that's just something they have to deal with it," O'Neal said. Last week, NBA star LeBron James drew his own share of backlash when he said he didn't think Morey considered the "consequences and ramifications" of his tweet.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said that the rift between China and the league has cost the NBA significantly.
"I don't know where we go from here. The financial consequences have been and may continue to be fairly dramatic," Silver said last week.
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