After the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets returned from China last weekend, everybody was waiting to find out what we would hear about the trip from those involved. LeBron James’ initial comments, describing his disappointment with the situation in China and chiding Daryl Morey for the timing of his tweet didn’t exactly go over well. He opted to discuss the trip and most of the NBA’s other big-name players have side-stepped the issue.
But James is now not alone among players from the Lakers and Nets commenting on China. His former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving was forced to weigh in on the situation after pro-Hong Kong protestors went to Brooklyn to protest the NBA’s relationship with China and Nets owner Joseph Tsai.
Irving said that he left his issues in the closed-door meeting with the two teams with Adam Silver back in China and said that while he acknowledges their issues, he wants to remain focused on issues in the United States as well.
“I understand that Hong Kong and China is dealing with their issues, respectively,” Irving said. “But there is enough oppression and stuff going on in America for me not to be involved in the community issues here as well.”
Obviously the NBA-China situation is fraught with financial obstacles for the players and geopolitical obstacles of the region. But in his first address, likely after studying LeBron’s stumble, Irving handled it much better than James did earlier in the week.
