The hot topic heading into tipoff of the 2019-20 NBA regular season is the fallout of Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy protestors, which drew the ire of the Chinese government. The NBA’s response to the international snafu made things worse, with commissioner Adam Silver vowing not to censor players or other employees and U.S. politicians now calling for the NBA to stand up to China.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr was unusually silent on the matter when asked by reporters to share his thoughts on Monday. His choice to speak with caution on the very sensitive, rapidly developing story was ridiculed by President Donald Trump.
Trump said Kerr was “like a little boy” who was “scared” to speak on China.
Warriors star Stephen Curry is no stranger to being called out on Twitter by Trump. When asked on Wednesday after practice what it’s like to be called out by the president on social media, Curry told The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, “It’s weird, because I figured he’d have better things to do with this time.”
Like Kerr, Curry declined to speak at length on the China-Hong Kong conflict and the subsequent NBA fallout. But he did state a desire for those in power to nix the petty sniping and spend more time on solutions.
