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Rockets Owner "Never Considered Firing Or Punishing" Daryl Morey

Fertitta (l) has escaped much of the backlash aimed at Daryl Morey (c) over the Hong Kong tweetNBAE/GETTY IMAGES

Rockets Owner Tilman Fertitta in a statement said he "never considered firing or punishing" GM Daryl Morey in the wake of his controversial Hong Kong tweet, according to Sopan Deb of the N.Y. TIMES. Fertitta also said he needed to initially distance the Rockets from Morey because he "felt it was important to make the distinction between Daryl speaking as a private citizen and Daryl as a representative of the Houston Rockets." He added, "We have never commented on another country's foreign policy." Fertitta ahead of the team's season opener Thursday night "declined to answer several follow-up questions, including whether he wished he had handled anything differently since Morey's post." Fertitta has "escaped much of the glare" in the aftermath. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) "did not mention Fertitta" when he invited Commissioner Adam Silver to "testify before a congressional subcommittee." Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) "slammed the NBA, without naming the Rockets' owner" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/25).

CROWD DISRUPTION: In Houston, Glynn Hill notes a group of fans at Toyota Center on Thursday "hoisted signs in support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong without repercussion." Three rows of fans held signs that said "Stand For Hong Kong," "Thank you Morey," "Money Can't Silence Us" and "CCP Can't Bully Us." Following the loss to the Bucks, group members said that they "intend to keep wearing the 'Fight for Freedom' shirts to games until '(Hong Kong) gets (its) freedom.'" They are "planning a larger protest" outside Toyota Center ahead of Saturday's game against the Pelicans with "members of Houston's Tibetan, Korean, Filipino and Taiwanese communities" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 10/25).

BARKLEY CALLS OUT MOREY: TNT's Charles Barkley in a Q&A with the WASHINGTON POST's Ben Golliver said Morey "has the right to freedom of speech, but he also has to understand that he works for the Houston Rockets." Barkley: "That's the No. 1 brand in China for the NBA because of their affiliation with Yao Ming. You can't insult a foreign country and go make money there. If he believes that (tweet) so much, he should not work for the Rockets. ... We have not heard from (Morey) since that tweet. All these congressmen and politicians were saying Adam Silver needs to stand up to China and that LeBron is selling out. That's the problem I had with the whole thing: Daryl Morey hasn't had any consequences. He's been hiding out since he put out the tweet." Barkley added Morey was "not wrong, but he put the NBA, the Rockets, LeBron and Nike in a really bad situation." Barkley: "I don't know exactly what I want to hear from him now" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/25). Barkley on TNT last night also went after Vice President Mike Pence, who earlier in the day publicly criticized the NBA (THE DAILY).

STAYING ENGAGED: CNBC’s Eunice Yoon noted fans in China are “quietly going about their business and watching” NBA games, as Tencent is “still airing the NBA games every single day.” But among teams on the streaming platform's schedule, the "only one that's missing" is the Rockets (“Worldwide Exchange,” CNBC, 10/25). Meanwhile, Adam Silver continued to address the controversy on TNT’s NBA pregame show. Silver: "There was never a point when the league wasn’t supportive of our values, of freedom of expression.” Silver said his initial statement on the issue was "twisted to be read as an apology for having said the specific content of that tweet, and that’s not what we said." Silver: "We’re a U.S. company, we’re a platform for freedom of expression. I don’t think it’s inconsistent, at the same time, to be respectful of the countries that we do business in. ... Maybe I tried too carefully to thread that needle." Silver added the league is “going to double-down on engaging with the people of China” (“Tip-Off,” TNT, 10/24).

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