Given LeBron James’ controversial reaction to Daryl Morey’s pro-Hong Kong tweets, Tuesday’s season opener between the Lakers and Clippers was inevitably going to bring some demonstrations to the Staples Center.
Outside the arena, dozens of people were seen handing out “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong” shirts in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democratic efforts against China. Though it was difficult to see how many fans were actually wearing the shirts during the broadcast, one young fan managed to get the message displayed by fooling the Clippers’ in-arena production.
At some point during the game, the Clippers held a Dance Cam, and a young fan was shown displaying a Clippers shirt. He quickly switched the shirts, showing off a “Stand with Hong Kong” shirt for several seconds before the camera operator panned away.
This wasn’t the first time that an NBA arena had looked to avoid pro-Hong Kong messaging during games. The 76ers, for example, drew criticism during the preseason for ejecting fans who brought pro-Hong Kong signs to the game. The Sixers said in a statement that the ejections came at the discretion of arena staffers — not the team.
According to ESPN, an estimated 13,000 shirts were handed out before the game in Los Angeles.
