NBA commissioner says China asked league to fire Rocket’s GM

The Chinese government reportedly asked NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to fire Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey after he tweeted in support of the pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong, The New York Times reported.

Silver told press Thursday “we said there’s no chance that’s happening.”

{mosads}“There’s no chance we’ll even discipline him,” Silver said.

Morey’s tweet, in which he used a phrase coined by Hong Kong protestors, sparked a media firestorm and fallout with China, one of the league’s biggest sources of revenue.

The tweet also came days before the NBA was set to play two preseason games in China.

The games were still played, but several Chinese-based companies canceled deals with the Rockets and the league.

Silver said that the financial consequences of Morey’s tweets have “already been substantial.”

“Our games are not back on the air in China as we speak, and we’ll see what happens next,” he added.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) also weighed in on the situation through a press release Thursday evening.

“It’s good that Morey still has his job and the NBA deserves credit there,” Sasse said.

He continued: “Let’s put this in perspective though: When an American citizen stands for basic human rights, the Chinese Communist Party tries to get him fired. But when a Chinese citizen stands for basic human rights, the Chinese Communist Party has a way of making them disappear.”