A damage control effort began immediately, with the National Basketball Association moving to protect its business interests in China.
Tillman Fertitta, who owns the Texas-based Landry's restaurant empire and purchased the Rockets last year for $2.2 billion, tweeted: "Listen. Daryl Morey does NOT speak for the Houston Rockets. Our presence in Tokyo is all about the promotion of the NBA internationally and we are NOT a political organization." Meanwhile, the Chinese media company Tencent, which is paying the NBA $1.5 billion over five years to broadcast games in China (which has more NBA fans than America has people), announced that it will not show Rockets games this season.
Tillman Fertitta, who owns the Texas-based Landry's restaurant empire and purchased the Rockets last year for $2.2 billion, tweeted: "Listen. Daryl Morey does NOT speak for the Houston Rockets. Our presence in Tokyo is all about the promotion of the NBA internationally and we are NOT a political organization." Meanwhile, the Chinese media company Tencent, which is paying the NBA $1.5 billion over five years to broadcast games in China (which has more NBA fans than America has people), announced that it will not show Rockets games this season.
https://reason.com/2019/10/07/the-n...d-china-than-supporting-freedom-in-hong-kong/