A Chinese Houston Rockets fan in now detained after expressing his political views on social media.
That’s a pretty vague description, so let me break it down for you.
Right now, Hong Kong is full of anti-government protesters fighting the current system of the Chinese government. These protesters are fighting for a democratic approach to the government, and that fight has spread over to the NBA.
Darryl Morey, GM of the Houston Rockets, posted a picture recently on Twitter. That picture was a form of support, support of the protesters fighting for their rights in Hong Kong right now. That, of course, got a lot of attention, and even sparked some discussion that Morey could’ve been fired from his job.
But Morey stayed and the incident was forgotten.
Well to important people in the US, not in China.
In response to the Morey tweet, China cancelled G league exhibition games that were previously scheduled to be held in China.
Now, a preseason game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets is in talks of being cancelled as well.
Threatening an important relationship between the NBA and China.
In response, a random Houston Rockets fan in China is now detained because of the totality of these events. The fan, who was posing in a Rockets jersey, posted a picture of him holding a lighter to the Chinese flag.
The caption? “I live and die with the team”. He also added “Come and catch me”.
He’s now detained while his case is under further investigation.
Flip the page to see James Harden apologize to China for Darryl Morey’s tweet.
