on friday daryl morey tweeted this image that says quote fight for freedom stand with hong kong maury later deleted the tweet and affirmed his appreciation for chinese fans, but a number of chinese businesses spend it i with the houston rockets, including state-run broadcaster cctv sports channel ten's in sports and the chinese basketball association which is chaired by former rockets star yao ming in a statement, the nba said quote we recognize that the views expressed by houston rockets general manager daryl morey have deeply offended

we're looking at daryl morey. the houston rockets gm. we'll talk about that story as well. a really big deal between the nba future growth, two countries, the second-biggest economy in the world, massive. >> china businessmen suspending ties with the houston rockets over that supportive tweet for hong kong protesters. new markets or profit? or do you want american values? >> not just profit, billions of dollars. lebron james the face of the nba in china today. >> i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. 5:00 a.m. in the east. we start in the nation's capital. the big day ahead in the democrats' impeachment inquiry prompted by a whistle-blower's accusation that president trump pressured ukraine to dig up dirt on the biden family in exchange for military aid. >> in just a few hours the u.s. ambassador to the european union, gordon sondland, will testify behind closed doors to three house committees -- intelligence, foreign affairs, oversight. sondland was mentioned in the whistle-blow whistle-blower's complaint and game attention in text messages released by the house democr

rockets owner tilman fertitta tweeted that morey didn't speak on behalf of the team. which has spent years trying to develop its business in china, called morey's tweet "regrettable." morey went on to delete that original tweet and posted an apology, saying: "i did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to rockets fans and friends of mine in china..." mike pesca is the host of slate magazine's podcast "the gist" and author of "upon further review: the greatest what-ifs in sports history." he joins me now. mike pesca, welcome to the "newshour". let's start with that n.b.a. statement. you tweeted calling it cowardly. adam silver is obviously being very careful with the language he's using. why do you think thn.b.a. is reacting the way that they are? >> well, yes, it's cowardly and shocking because, so far, adam silver in his tenure as commissioner has been progressive, has been on the right side of issues, has listened to the concerns of the players,d i would also say, by extension, employs like daryl morey. so much money is at stake. it's not just the perception that

also issued a statement saying morey's initial tweet was "regrettable."shepard: now politicians really on both sides are finally criticizing china. >> yeah, the tweets caught eye of gop senators, cruz of texas and rick scott of florida, who took a swing at the n.b.a. statement saying daryl morey's comments regrettable, cruz saying, we are better for this, human rights shouldn't be for sale. the n.b.a. shouldn't be assisting censorship. 2020 democratic candidate julian castro spoke out against china, saying, xhiena is using economic power to silence critics, even those in the u.s. it is important to note, joe cy, e-commerce alibaba, says daryl morey's initial tweet will take a long time to repair. lakers and nets are in china playing this week. shep. >> shepard: trace, thank you. i mentioned president trump was to speak 3:30 eastern time, about 14 minutes or so ago. all these folks have been standing there for better part of last 20 to 25 minutes while they wait to see the president come in, sign this agreement with japan and then we expect it is often the

daryl morey is right. when you see something going wrong in the world, you need to say, that's not right. >> we don't get to impress our values on other countries. the regions that my family was from. greater details. richer stories. and now with health insights. get your dna kit at ancestry.com. esper has landed in baghdad. his stop at the capital has happened. he addressed the future of those troops with cnn's christiaristi amanpo amanpour. >> he says, welcome to come across the border but only on the way out. he doesn't anticipate your troops staying there. >> we anticipate a deliberate withdrawal in northeast syria, temporarily position in iraq. eventually those troops are going to come home. >> so they are coming home. >> they will come home. >> esper said some could say in the southern part of syria while others could stay to deny isis key oil fields. russia and turkey have reached a deal to remove fighters at the borders. cnn's jomana karadsheh along the border. jomana? >> reporter: it's going to be

daryl morey, the nba executive who kicked this whole thing off did not formally apologise. over to china to sell their sneakers. obviously, china buys a lot ofjerseys as well, there‘s tons of ties between nike, adidas, their athletes and china. and then of course, a lot of times, you know, after — players are getting ready to wind down their careers, they can go have a second career in china and become big stars over there as well. so it‘s clear that the chinese market loves nba basketball, they love the game and i do think eventually this will get sorted out. but right now they‘re in a staring contest because the nba has stood up for their executive, daryl morey, and his freedom of speech, and china has made it very clear through the cctv and the national television network that they don‘t believe he had the right to speak on the issues that he spoke on with regard to hong kong. now, just imagine if yourjob was to explore the earth‘s final frontier. that‘s the case forjill heinerth, one of the world‘s most famous cave divers. she‘s the first person in history to dive deep

it started with this tweet from houston rocket's general manager daryl morey, saying fight for freedomd with hong kong. that message was sent friday it. was later deleted, but action was swift from china. the chinese basketball association and many major companies suspended operations with the franchise, calling for action against morey. adam silver says it supports freedom of expression but not necessarily endorsing morey's point of view. both the brooklyn nets and los angeles lakers are scheduled to head to china for games this week. unclear if those will take place as planned. >>> elizabeth warren stands by her account of being pushed out of a teaching job because of her pregnancy. warren said she was hired by the riverdale board of education in new jersey as a speech pathologist from 1970 to 1971. she describes being 22 years old and six months pregnant when she was let go. media says she resigned. warren said the moment was pivotal and it ultimately led to her path to public service. >>> "the dallas morning news" reports judge tammy kemp defends giving former dallas officer amber

and this week lebron james weighed in criticizing morey for the tweet and its happy about that. they burned a replica of lebron's jersey while holding signs to support morey. >>> violent clashes erupted for a second night in barcelona between police and protesters. [ chants ] protesters are angry about the conviction of cataland separatist leaders. monday, leaders were jailed after being found guilty of crimes against the government. some demonstrations have turned violent. spain has launched an investigation into an activist group organizing the protests. >>> an explosion caused a massive fire at a fuel storage facility in the bay area in california. it happened yesterday at newstar energy in crockett, about 30 miles northeast of downtown san francisco. thick plumes of black smoke and flames could be seen for miles. about 12,000 people were ordered to stay inside because of concerns about hazardous particles in the air. the fire burned for nearly eight hours before firefighters contained it, and the cause of the explosion is under investigation. >>> a powerful fall nor'easter i

. >> i don't want to get in word or sentence feud with darrel, but darrel morey, i believe he was notducated on the situation at hand. and he spoke. and so many people could have been harmed. not only financially but physically, emotionally, spiritually, be careful what we say, tweet, to, yes, we have freedom of speech but there is a lot of negative that come from us. david: having just been in hong kong with the protesters this garbage is hard to take. lebron james, you are educated on the situation? why don't you go to hong kong,? why don't you meet people there risking lives for most basic liberties. here is fox news headline, 24/7 sports reporter, jared max, dan woken in "usa today" calling this lebron's most disgraceful moment is it? >> maybe. time will tell. i think what is disgraceful that we really care what lebron james has to say, a line from highwafrom movie hoosiers. gods come pretty cheap now aday, you become one by putting a leather ball in a iron hoop. lebron james is the most greatest basketball in the world, he should remember that. if he were not able too future e th

: the controversy began when morey fired off this tweet, fight for freedom, stand with hong kong.ive protests against china in the former british colony. the tweet quickly igniting a firestorm from chinese fans and its government. the nba immediately putting out a statement saying morey's comments have deeply offended our fans in china, which is regrettable. commissioner silver now trying to smooth things over. he's headed to shanghai wednesday to watch a preseason find he's still defending morey's right to share his opinion. >> daryl's tweet has hit what i would describe as a third rail issue here in china. i understand that there are con. we will protect our employee's freedom of speech. >> reporter: in a statement the network says we are strongly dissatisfied and oppose silver's claim to support morey's rye of free expression. the nba is the number one sports league in china. they have at least 25 marketing partnerships and 200 stores there. commissioner silver has acknowledged this issue is not likely to die down quickly. trevor ault, abc news, new york. >> all right, our than

but a tweet by houston rockets executive daryl morey, which supported the political protests in hongstate tv saying they won't air two exhibition games in the country this week. morey has since apologised but the chinese government, the fans, and the team's partners aren't happy, after a loss of money and publicity. here's what nba commissioner adam silver had to say. we are not apologising for exercising freedom of expression. i regret again having communicated directly again with many friends in china that so many people are upset, including millions and millions of oui’ including millions and millions of ourfans. including millions and millions of our fans. what i including millions and millions of ourfans. what i said and including millions and millions of our fans. what i said and that statement is the long held values of the nba, to support freedom of expression and certainly freedom of expression and certainly freedom of expression by members of the nba community. sojust how big of an impact will this have on the nba? earlier we spoke to simon chadwick, professor of sports ent

morey's right to express his views. adam: the long-held values of the nba are to support freedom of expression, and certainly freedom of expression by members of the nba community. in this case, daryl morey as the manager of the houston rockets enjoys that right as one of our employees. laura: a brief time ago i discussed all of this with ian bremmer, president of the eurasia group. thanks so much for joining us. what does the standoff between the nba and china say about the price of doing business in china for u.s. brands? ian: it is going up. the chinese are stronger than they used to be, they are a much bigger economy, so the benefits of getting business right are significant,ut they are much more rigid and much less flex, partularly on anything that they think involves matters of national security and political stability. hong kong in particular, rig in the crosshairs, and the nba stepped all over it. laura: by playing hardball with the nba and canceling the streaming of their preseason games, what kind of a signal

morey's tweet led chinese state tv to pull it from the air. china and then to revefrs course and say the nba supports morey's right to free speech. tonight the chinese government continues to brush back against silver accusing morey of ulterior motive and arrogance. is a deal about to come crashing down over a tweet? >> the size and scope of their relationship is so big that it is mutually beneficial. clearly it's in everybody's best interest to sort out this solution. adam silver even back in june said he hoped the nba could be part of basketball diplomacy. this is a huge test for him as commissioner. >> tonight analysts say it looks like everyone involved botched the response to morey's tweet including calculated relationship in beijing. >> the way they did it, they drew more attention to hong kong, maybe drew more sympathy to the protesters. hopefully everyone will stay in line in the future. >> analysts say for the government in beijing, it doesn't matter as much that more attention has been drawn to hong kong, at least for the moment. the

"morey's view deeply offended many of our friends and fans in china, which is regrettable."et's biggest star, james harden also chimed in. >> we apologize. we love china. we love playing there. >> reporter: with more than half a billion chinese fans in the match-up of free speech versus big business, commerce, says cbs omorts lead n.b.a. reporter bill reiter, was a slam dunk. >> whatever american principles you bring to the table, including free speech, you check that at the door if you want to do business with china. >> reporter: morey walked back that tweet. h've had a lot of opportunity the hear and consider other thrspectives. d nid not intend my tweet to cause any offense. the n.b.a. is getting plenty of blow back itself and creating some strange bedfellows in the process. republican senator ted cruz from texas say the n.b.a.'s retreat is shameful. beto o'rourke, the democrat from el paso, called it an embarrassment. and norah, normally you can't those two to agree on what color the sky is. >> o'donnell: a lot of blow back indeed. jim, thank you. still ahead, with the s

most popular nba team in china because of yao ming joe tsai was out with his own statement against morey is a lot going on >> and that didn't go over well. yeah >> less you. >> stick around. so what can the nba do to calm the storm in china and rage here at home that they may have becomed down in the face of pressure from china. dean crutchfield, welcome. >> welcome thank you. >> the nba tried to distance itself specifically from darryl morey's comments in a tweet or statement that they put out, but they also simultaneously said that the nba has a tradition of encouraging its players and its executives to take part in public discourse let me read the words exactly here the values of the legal support individuals educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them, which is kind of a non-retreat/retreat. the nba is not the first nor will it be the last to tiptoe around china >> no, i think this is a case, as you mentioned yourself, this is about following the money, not following your principles. and i think we have to say, you know, what makes america great it's not

. >> daryl morey is right.never you see something going on wrong in the world, you have the right to say that's not right. >> we don't get to impress our values on other countries. - in the last year, there were three victims of cybercrime every second. when a criminal has your personal information, they can do all sorts of things in your name. criminals can use ransomware, spyware, or malware to gain access to information like your name, your birthday, and even your social security number. - [announcer] that's why norton and lifelock are now part of one company, providing an all in one membership for your cyber safety that gives you identify theft protection, device security, a vpn for online privacy, and more. and if you have an identity theft problem, we'll work to fix it with our million dollar protection package. - there are new cyber threats out there everyday, so protecting yourself isn't a one time job, it's an ongoing need. now is the time to make sure that you have the right plan in place. don't wait.

morey sent out a subsequent tweet apologizing for what he initially put out. he said, i did not intend my tweet to offend fans. i have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives. i have always appreciated the significant support of our chinese fans and sponsors have provided and i would hope those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention. my tweets are my own and in no way represent the rockets or the nba. now, that apology has also gotten some backlash, particularly from u.s. lawmakers. on both sides, democrats and republicans. essentially saying that morey should not be appeasing the chinese communist government and his response showed concern for money rather than democracy movements going on in hong kong. either way, when i caught up with one young player here, i asked him what he thought of the rockets in light of this event, he had heard about the tweet and the subsequent apology and the fallout. he said, it changed his opinion somewhat of the rockets. he'd be less likely

it follows a dispute sparked earlier this month when houston rockets' manager daryl morey tweeted supporttesters in hong kong. monica miller is in our singapore burueau. yes, well, some 800 million fans in china were really disappointed today. that first game between the reigning champions toronto raptors and the new orleans pelicans was blacked out, as you said, on the state—run television. however, chinese online giant tencent did televise the next game. lebronjames has come out in support of the chinese in this protest debate in hong kong. this all started when houston rockets coach daryl morey sent a tweet in support of the hong kong pro—democracy supporters and his comments unleashed a wave of anger in china. basketball legend shakeel 0'neill earlier today came out in support of daryl morey, saying he has a right to free speech. monica, thank you, good to see you again. let's talk you quickly through how financial markets fared earlier in asia. a bit of a mixed day, that is the night before on wall street. everyone is keeping their eye on politics, us china trade discussions but brex

morey clearly knows more than lebron about china's human rights abuses. we get it. lebron has many lucrative reasons to play ball with china. for starters, he signed a $1 billion lifetime nike endorsement, which heavily depends on selling gear continue chinese markets in the lot of nikes' merchandise over the years have been made by labor in china. but at least the nba players make a lot of money. and the space jam remake lebron stars in? that's going to debut in 2021. do not want to upset the apple cart with this revision deals on the line. but just say that instead of overwrought lectures about how brave you are. >> i get an opportunity to be the inspiration what all these kids are looking up to and for me to just sit back and not say [bleep] -- not giving a [bleep] about backlash, it's not about me. >> laura: even if it means -- well, looking the other way or attacking basically someone in your own league. we'll have a lot more to get to on this. but joining us now, john daniel davidson, political editor for the federalist. lebron has been lionized by the prosper

so many people could have been harmed. >> morey street came in two preseason games. the chinese government reacted furiously shutting down tv coverage of the games and all but ordering billboards to be pulled down. while almost every chinese company that partners with the nba they are pulled out of those partnerships. nba commissioner adam silver was left trying to thread the needle and standing by the league's free-speech tradition while it is the same time apologizing to the chinese government which effectively controls billions of dollars in potential income for the nba. a protest movement began, gathering pace of preseason games. fans wearing pro-hong kong shorts were thrown out of a sixers game and around 150 protesters turned up at a brooklyn next game last friday. the movement centering on slogans on t-shirts on the basis that the nba won't allow fans to low hold signs -- hold signs but can't police what they wear. tonight there is particular nervousness around well organized protests in toronto and here in l.a. the question will ducting or democracy be the st

sentiment and the team tweeting morey does not speak for the houston rockets.aid morey's comments have deeply offended our fans in china which is regrettable. the nba is the number one sports league in china and big business for the league. with at least 25 marketing partnerships and 200 nba stores. silver says the nba does not want to upset its legends of fans in the communist country, but that it must stay true to its american principles. >> daryl's tweet has hit what i would describe as a third rail issue here in china. >> adam silver is going to shanghai tomorrow to watch a preseason game and he hopes to meet with chinese officials to smooth this over, silver says he recognizes this issue will probably not go away quickly. >> sure will not. okay, kaylee, thank you very much. >>> another incident, new developments in the case involving the wife of an american diplomat in britain accused of killing a teenager in a car crash, then fleeing the country claiming diplomatic immunity. the british prime minister has now revealed the woman's name and vowed to take th

shaquille o'neal has become the latest person to wade into the feud he spoke out in support of daryl morey when he spoke to t.n.t. an american paid television network basically saying that anyone should have the right to speak out when they see something wrong going on anywhere in the world or you can only imagine how his comments are going to go down here in china but basketball fans were still able to catch one of the 2 matches live on chinese digital platforms and then which holds the right to live streams the n.b.a. is changed down some people however were not in favor of $0.10 decision calling for a boycott of the n.b.a. and some even branding tencent a traitor but the company 3rd at least $20000000.00 people tuned in to watch proving that basketball hasn't lost its appeal. the washington nationals are taking game one of baseball's world series against the houston astros despite falling behind early on a 20 year old played a starring role in helping washington with what was their 1st ever world series game pizza summit reports. to g. scenes with very different histories the nationals

morey he dutifully obeyed and deleted the pro hong kong tweet. he even issued a apology, "i did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to rocket fans and friends of mine in china. i would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention." the most despicable reaction came from the nba itself. the league put out to apologies. one in english calling the tweet "regrettable" and another shameless statement in chinese reading they were extremely disappointed the inappropriate marks made by houston rocket general manager daryl morey. standing with the persecuted people of hong kong is inappropriate? they should wear any criticism of the chinese regime as a badge of honor, but no can do. you know what, i also think it's funny to look back 18 months or go to self-righteous pompous comments of nba coaches who have no trouble trashing president trump and even his voters i think the spurs head coach,an, gregg popovich. >> i wonder what the people think about who voted for him where their line is. where i

then you have the subsequent deleting of that tweet by morey. and an apology go out. that in and of itself has brought more backlash from even u.s. lawmakers. so, it's created quite the storm. here in china, the reaction is seemingly mixed by some. i mean, you've got some folks on social media who are clearly very upset with what the rockets put out and seem to support what has come down from the government, for one. and i say that in kind of three parts, if you will. you've got state media saying that -- >> we lost david there. again, david pointing out that the reaction coming from all corners given this comment. we'll continue to follow this story for you, of course. >>> another story related to china, a leaked drone video is sparking new concerns that china is harshly targeting ethnic muslims. the footage appears to show hundreds of detainees in western china bound and blindfolded. cnn's math rivers spoke with two former detainees who describe the abuses they say they faced in similar camps. >> reporter: row by row, there are hundreds of them seated on the ground,

daryl morey came out in favor of pro-democracy protesters in hong kong there.ial comment from lebron james understandably raising a lot of eyebrows. >> i think the initial comment from lebron james was off base and he had to take to twitter to clarify. i'm pretty sure what he was attempting to say is that the tweet did not give consideration to those on the ground in china playing preseason basketball games. i still am not sure that's the ledge you want to be on if you're lebron james. i want to take a step back for a minute. i think all of these players, what we're seeing is all of these players have to be educated about the injustices around the world. the nba is considered to be more woke than any other sports entity but these players have to understand an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere and that it is okay to let your pockets take a small hit to speak out for what is right, which is to be on the side of the hong kong protesters. i don't think that that is -- i think more players once they understand the issue will begin to speak out. >>

. >> you're okay with what darrell morey said >> he can say whatever he wants. >> drew rosenhaus joinsom miami. good to have you back. >> good to be here. >> i don't think we had a chance to touch on what silver and the league and what everyone has been through and whether or not that gets the season off on the wrong foot >> i think once they start playing basketball it will get back to what's going on on the court and not off the court. i'm not sure the fan is really too worried about what china thinks of the nba. i think they'll be focused on how many points their star players scored and who is winning and losing the games thankfully the games are here and we can put this controversy behind us. >> the fans may not care but the league cares about china and not upsetting whatever apple carts they built there what are they supposed to do stay silent on issues that other people think are worth speaking about? >> i do think it's very important that they support darrell morey and his right to express himself, his opinions about the freedoms and china and thing going on there i am glad the

it was the hewn rockets' daryl morey who posted the tweet now deleted last week. we have posters from the games starting to be taken down. probably a real question mark as to whether these preseason games in china are going to go ahead at all even though adam silver is in china trying to smooth over it. it's caught all around the hong kong protests. the protesters have many faceless leaders with different aims, none of it is independence. it's not going away any time soon. >> alex, thank you so much for that. whether it's airlines, retailers, hotel companies, they have all caved, caved, caved for this big market. so watching adam silver watching this. >> a $4 billion relationship with to he a. >>> drivers in california paying way more at the pump than in the country. what's going on in california. we have the details next on why that's spiked. that's next. tremfya® helps adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis get clearer. and tremfya® was proven superior to humira® in providing significantly clearer skin. don't use if you're allergic to tremfya®. tremfya®

we love playing here. >> reporter: and from morey himself, i did not intend my tweet to cause any offense and the rockets and adding the economic impact is already clear. republican and democratic lawmakers crying foul. >> it's unamerican to gag people when they are speaking out on behalf of freedom. >> reporter: some republicans quick to condemn the nba while staying silent about president trump's latest overture to the communist regime caught between two cultures that washington >>> an urgent manhunt is underway in texas tonight for who killed a key witness in the trial of amber guyger, the former dallas police officernvis police officer of murder tonight, dallas p.d. trying to solve the mystery of who killed joshua brown. the scene six miles from the complex where brown lived last year when he heard the fatal gunshots fired by amber guyger killing botham jean. by the time police arrived here at the complex, officers found brown outside one of the buildings shot multiple times but alive. the only clue who pulled the trigger a silver four-door sedan seen speeding from the scene brown die

. >> the scandal all started when rockets general manager daryl morey tweeted solidarity with the hongrs. the response from chinese officials was swift and strong, suspending all cooperation with the team while state tv and streaming services announced they won't air any preseason games in china. msnbc host stephanie ruhle has been doing some reporting on this, speaking to owners, others involved with the league. as you were saying, everybody comes out of this as a loser. there say huge principle at stake for everyone. >> huge principle and huge dollars. china also reminded us of who they are. daryl morey is not the team, he's not even a famous player, and look how china responds, one single tweet saying i'm pro democracy and i stand with hong kong, and they're building tens of millions of dollars of sponsorships, possibly billions of dollars of tv rights, and now adam silver is getting criticized from china for not being tough enough on morey. they're saying, you don't support freedom of expression if it goes against your government. what, that's the new line? if that's the new line,

should the nba have stood by morey? >> yeah. look, unfortunately, the nba was looking at a number, 490 million people in china watched nba games online last year, and unfortunately, they were slow to react in the right way. what horror to back democracy. what a terrible thing this man did for the nba to sit back finally adam silver came forward and said yes, we do believe in free speech, yes, we do believe that mr. morey has a right to say what he did but unfortunately, a little bit too late and a little bit too tepid, if you ask me. >> there's no surprise here, right, the numbers are huge, that the nba might be forfeiting in standing up for hong kong and standing up for this fellow's right to denounce what's going on in hong kong but let's face it, it's a teachable moment. how great would it have been for all parties concerned, the nba and the rockets manager and everybody else, to come out and say this is what america means. we have a right to say what we think. yes, if it costs our team or our league some money, that's too ba

for caving to china's counist government commissioner adam silver defending houston rockets gm daryl morey whose now deleted tweet supporting protests in hong kong triggered fury in china. >> we are not apologizing. >> reporter: at first the league openly criticized morey's message, and in a statement to the chinese, called it inappropriate. but after growing backlash, a decidedly different tone. >> i am an american, and there are these values that are deeply rooted in the dna of the nba, and that includes freedom of expression for our employees. >> reporter: china's government tonight, digging in. canceling a brooklyn nets event at a shanghai school and the chinese state broadcaster announcing the country will not air some nba preseason games as nba sponsors in the country drop out. >> american companies are finding that china reacts fairly furiously to what we could consider very minimal critiques. >> the gap apologized for a t-shirt last year showing a map of china without taiwan and other territories the country claims as its own. and the chinese government forced marriott's website to

morey's views said the nba deeply offended many of our friends and fans in china, which is regrettable. the rockets' biggest star james harden also chimed in. >> we apologize. we love china. we love playing there. >> reporter: with more than half a billion chinese fans in the matchup of free speech versus big business, commerce says sports writer bill reiter was a slam-dunk. >> whatever principles you bring to the table, including free speech, you check that at the door if you want to do business with china. >> reporter: that seemed pretty clear from morey's walkback tweet yesterday. "i've had a lot of opportunity to hear and consider other perspectives. i did not intend my tweet to cause my offense." the nba is getting plenty of blowback itself and creating some strange bedfellows in the process. republican senator ted cruz from texas said the nba's retreat is shameful. beto o'rourke, the democrat from el paso called it an embarrassment. and norah, as you know, normally you can't even get those two to agree on what color the sky is. >> yeah, a lot of blowback indeed. jim, thank you. >

smoke, furor growing over his response to this tweet sent by houston rockets general manager daryl morey earlier this month in apparent support of anti-government protesters >> i don't want to get into a feud with daryl morey, but i believe he wasn't educated on the situation at hand. >> reporter: those comments setting off a political brushfire here at home republican senators quick to pounce rick scott of florida writing clearly king james is the one who isn't educated on the situation. nebraska's ben sasse, you're parroting communist propaganda china is running torture camps, and you know it. >> drink it. >> reporter: the league's most bankable brand and the nba have a lot riding on the chinese market billions of dollars in shoe sales and entertainment. >> as somebody who advocates for social justice, that he has got to find a better way to express what he's feeling, because it makes him look very craven it makes him look like he just cares about the money. >> reporter: james and his teammates recently returned from a trip to china with controversy hanging in the air he tweeted, "my t

silver said the nba declined china's request for morey to be fired.'s initial response may have been too diplomatic but added the league supports free expression. the nba is big business in china, and silver said the league is losing millions of dollars. >> the losses have already been substantial. our games are not back on the air in china as we speak. and we'll see what happens next. >> silver said he's not sure what will happen to the league's relationship with china. >>> still ahead, why leg room on flights could shrink.rstime the be testing to see just how much space you really need in the dne toor i didn't have to call 911. and i didn't have to come get you. because you didnyou took oun about your chronic coronary artery disease to heart. even with a stent procedure, your condition can get worse over time, and keep you at risk of blood clots. so you added xarelto®, to help keep you protected. xarelto®, when taken with low-dose aspirin, is proven to further reduce the risk of blood clots that can cause heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular deat

daryl morey's tweet backing pro democracy protesters in hong kong sparked a dispute between china andound 77% of americans back morey and they say the rockets should keep him as the team's general manager. at the same time, 52% say that los angeles lakers star lebron james' criticism of morey was financially he motivated. staying with sports, baseball fans may think they're watching a world series that's being played in an alternative universe where several is upside down. a big win for the astros in dc again. jillian mele was there for all the action. what's coming up? good morning. >> reporter: lots to talk about last night. the astros take three games in washington as they head out to home field advantage in houston for the final two games. we'll break it down for you, give you highlights and tell you about the president and the first lady who were in attendance. that's all coming up when we return. ♪ you are unforgettable. ♪ i need to get you alone. ♪ why not yeah, that's half the fun of a new house. seeing what people left behind in the attic. well, saving on homeowners insurance

from it saying, the views expressed by daryl morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fansich is regrettable. nba commissioner adam silver later spoke up in morey's defense. >> the long-held values of the nba are to support freedom of expression and in this case daryl morey as the general manager of the houston rockets enjoys that right. as i understand that there are consequences, we will protect our employees' freedom of speech. >> okay, the nba has a $1.5 billion deal to stream their games in china. nba china, that league is worth $4 billion. it's the largest growth market for nike which did $6.2 billion in sales. that's why this almost became an international incident. there is so much money involved in this and everybody is tiptoeing and being careful. and you saw lebron, he's spoken up on issues before. he hopped on twitter and tried to clarify and it's probably not done yet. >> i'm sure it's not. >> but we're talking billions. so that's why this became such a thing. >> thank you, t.j. >>> and coming up, we have our "play of the day." it's going to have you dancing fo

we're looking at daryl morey. the houston rockets gm. we'll talk about that story as well.eally big deal between the nba future growth, two countries, the second-biggest economy in the world, massive. >> china businessmen suspending ties with the houston rockets over that supportive tweet for hong kong protesters. new markets or profit? or do you want american values? >> not just profit, billions of dollars. lebron james the face of the nba in china today. >> i'm christine romans. >> i'm d

what did -- fertita say to darryl morey we can only wonder. >> don't you think here darryl morey comesght than anyone else after all is said and done or do we look at him and say that was a foot in mouth -- i don't see how you can get criticized for saying stand with the freedom fighters. >> you shouldn't be. i agree with that. >> you think silver looks good i'm not so sure. >> it's such a delicate balance. it's a tight rope that no one wants to be on. >> but a lot of companies are. >> sure. >> that's just the reality when you're doing that much business in a market that big, you set yourself up for that. >> actually, a prior commissioner, david stern, had indicated this several decades ago when the nba first got into china. >> can i ask you a separate question this relates to nike i don't know if you saw this news nike is closing this oregon project? did you follow this? this track and field program that nike had sponsored, was overseen by a guy who was found guilty by the u.s. anti-doping agency why do you think nike, which has been accused over the years of being involved in doping

the nba, which said it regretted upsetting chinese fans, but stood by morey, stands to lose a lot ofoney in china. $490 million -- 490 million people watched last season's basketbaball games and this yea the platform reportedly paid $1.5 billion for the rights to all ofof the nba's's matcheses the next five years. >> basketball isn't the only point of contention between the u.s. and china. they're still embroiled in a heated trade war. today the u.s. blacklist of chinese companies just got longer. >> that's r right. daysys before a new round of u.u.s.-chinana trade talks, washshington aed a another 28 chinese companies to its trade blacklist. the commerce department said that the organizations had been targeted for their involvement in human rights abuses against uighurs and other mainly muslim minorities in the country. the li i includes s some of china's top artificiaial intetelligence startups,s, including video surveillance from hick vision as well as leaders in facial recognition technology. >> how's all thatt playing out in the markets? >> there are jitters on financial markrke

leading to a quick walk back. >> you know, we love china, we love playing there >> reporter: and for morey himself, i did not intend my tweet to cause any offense the nba commissioner reinforcing the league's support for freedom of expression. but adding that economic impact is already clear republican and democratic lawmakers crying foul. t ont's unamerican tg people behalf of freedom. >> reporter: some republicans quick to condemn the nba while staying silent about president trump's latest overture to the communist regime the nba caught between two cultures as it tries to protect its bottom line. jeff bennett, nbc news, washington >> the judge in the amber geyger trial is defending her decision to hug the former dallas police officer who was convicted of murdering her unarmed neighbor in an interview that will air on the today show later this morning, judge tammy kemp says it is her responsibility to show love and compassion. >> i was looking at her and then my memory said, your job is to do justice, to love mercy, and walk humbly. so how can you not hug this lady >> meanwhile, the you a

daryl morey issued a new statement of his own.ve voiced concern, worried china is using its economic power to silence its critics. to try to gag a general manager or anybody who is speaking out in favour of the hong kong protesters is wrong, and i hope that basketball will understand that. it's un—american to gag people when they are speaking out on behalf of freedom. the rockets are in japan for a pre—season friendly, but this row over free speech and chinese commercial might is threatening to overs ha d ow commercial might is threatening to overshadow any action on the stay with us on bbc news. still to come: new zealand marks 250 years since british explorer captain cook landed, and the first encounter between maori and europeans. this was a celebration by people who were relishing their freedom. they believe everything's going to be different from now on. they think their country will be respected in the world once more as it used to be before slobodan milosevic took power. the dalai lama, the exiled spiritual leader of tibet,

writing, morey "could have waited a week to send it." the n.b.a. and james' sponsor nike have billions of dollars invested in china. "usa today" sports columnist dane wilken. >> lebron james is, obviously, a huge global spokesperson. if relations between the n.b.a. and china are strained in any iy, it does have an impact on ,he bottom line for the n.b.a. >> reporter: still, many are now calling on the normally outspoken star to say if he supports the hong kong protesters or not. norah. >> o'donnell: all right, jonathan. thank you. and we've got more news still ahead, including an actress' new role as a federal inmate. cdc guidance recommends topical pain relievers first... like salonpas patch large. it's powerful, fda-approved to relieve moderate pain for up to 12 hours, yet non-addictive and gentle on the body. salonpas. it's good medicine. hisamitsu. governot just the powerful and well-connected. that's the american promise. but big corporations and special interests are in control. nothour demoacyning for has been purchased. the candidates runni

morey does not speak for the houston rockets.r player james harden even weighing in. >> we love china. we love playing there and we appreciate the support they gave us. >> reporter: the nba is big business in china with at least 25 marketing partnerships and more than 200 nba-style stores. the owner of the brooklyn nets is also the co-founder of alibaba, china's largest e-commerce platform, he weighed in saying morey's words will take a long time to repair. overnight morey apologizing writing, i did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to rockets fans and friends of mine in china. i was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. i have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives. and the nba putting out a statement this morning saying morey's comments have deeply offended our fans in china which is regrettable. but this all comes at a tricky time. because the nba, they are in asia this week. you have four teams playing including the lakers and nets,

it all started with this tweet from houston rocts gm daryl morey. "fight for freedom, stand with hong kong." morey showing support for the pro-democracy demonstrators battling the chinese-backed leaders of hong kong. >> ryl's tweet has hit whatda i would call a third rail issue. >> reporter: china castigating the rockets for the tweet, demanding they correct the error. >> we apologize, you know? we love china. >> reporter: that sentiment outraging many american fans and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. but today, nba commissioner adam silver trying to balance the league's $4 billion interest in china with american values. >> we are not apologizing for daryl exercising his freedom of expression. >> reporter: the chinese state broadcaster firing back saying, "we bel ciehall tenges l sovereignty and social stability is not within the scope of freedom of speech." david, commissioner silver will be in china on wednesday for those preseason games. he hopes to meet with government officials to help diffuse this conflict. david? >> tom llamas, thank yo

that guy, morey, should have been fired.e should have been fired, because you don't just go out -- the nba is -- it is a huge financial organization. they are trying to expand their then china, i am not sure if it is china or india, but they have the largest population in the world, and begin ba sells a lot of tickets to the people in china. they play games over there. china sponsors a lot of teams and games over here. host: why do you think morey should have been fired? as ar: because he went out rogue person, and he did not check in with the owner. he is not the owner. he is just the general manager. guy, the top guy came out, and he is trying to color it over and say he has freedom of speech, but you do not do that when you are part of a huge conglomerate. -- they sellmany so many shoes in china and jerseys and everything. i know people say that is money, money, yeah, but the nba is a huge business. haveguy, morey, should been fired. plus, i don't like him anyway. he should have been fired, point blank, period. host: all