Shaq Defends Daryl Morey on China

The NBA-China controversy has enveloped the league and its player for the last week and a half, all starting with Rockets GM Daryl Morey's Twitter post about supporting the Hong Kong protestors. What happened afterward immediately caught the attention of the league and China and could have big financial ramifications for the NBA. Or will it?

One guy is coming to the rescue of Daryl Morey and that is Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal.

O'Neal embraced free speech on Tuesday during TNT's pre-game show, a week after Lakers star LeBron James called Daryl Morey "not educated" on the situation, saying about the situation, "Daryl Morey was right...And they know and understand our values and we understand their values. And one of our best values in America is free speech. We're allowed to say what we want to say and we're allowed to speak up on injustices, and that's just how it goes." This is a perfect quote from O'Neal and one that LeBron probably should've made years ago before he balked at this issue with a quote that seemed to defy business in China more than America's right to free speech.

O'Neal further went on to say, "Whenever you see something going on wrong anywhere in the world, you should have the right to say, 'That's not right,' and that's what he did."

O'Neal did not mention LeBron by name in his comments. However, his comments were clear and crystal and made perfect sense and he wasn't being a hypocrite. It is in stark contrast to LeBron, who seemed to sidestep and not stand up for America's right to free speech, as well as insult Daryl Morey. Did he happen to know Daryl Morey does business in China and understands the issues?

O'Neal's comments will probably not change anything that's already happened, though it could cost him dearly in China, where O'Neal does have business. He's not worried about that, though, so I applaud him for standing up for America's values.

Back on Oct. 4, Morey sent out a seven-word tweet that said, "Fight For Freedom. Stand for Hong Kong." It created a severe controversy that seemed to put the NBA on defense against China and it's clear how there will be severe financial consequences as a result of the tweet. It probably doesn't really matter now, anyway.

As far as the O'Neal comment goes, they are crystal clear. We have rights in this country to free speech and to stand up to something that we feel is not right. In this case, we feel that the injustices done to Hong Kong by China is not right. Hong Kong has obviously had enough of China and its communist ways and Morey is standing up for their right to free speech and protest and democracy. He has the right to do that as an American. We have values, they have values, and we respect and understand our values, and we will do that no matter what.

I applaud and stand with O'Neal. Free speech is the foundation of our democracy and we will continue to hold it dear to our hearts.