# Stephen A Smith, Daryl Morey, China, ESPN and Values **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504 "2019-10-09T00:18:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/1 "2019-10-09T00:18:43Z")
As I am sure that you already know, Houston Rockets GM posted a short and innocuous tweet supporting the pro Democracy protestors in Hong Kong. Amidst the fallout, ESPN has banned talk of any of the issues on their airwaves: > **[Internal Memo: ESPN Forbids Discussion Of Chinese Politics When Discussing...](https://deadspin.com/internal-memo-espn-forbids-discussion-of-chinese-polit-1838881032)** > > If you paid attention to ESPN channels yesterday, you saw the network repeatedly attempt to grapple with the story of Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey creating an international incident after tweeting and then deleting his support for... As despicable as their stance, Stephen A Smith goes yet further: > **[Stephen A. Smith Pauses Between Bootlicks To Tell Daryl Morey To Grow Up](https://deadspin.com/stephen-a-smith-pauses-between-bootlicks-to-tell-daryl-1838854121)** > > Ahead of his radio program this afternoon, Stephen A. Smith clearly thought long and hard about Daryl Morey’s tweet supporting Hong Kong protestors, the ensuing controversy and Morey’s subsequent backtracking, and the large-scale implications of all... ESPN and their yapping lapdog SAS seem to believe that money trumps values. China is problematic overall. They have imprisoned a million muslims ['Illegal Superstition': China Jails Muslims For Practicing Islam, Relatives Say : NPR](https://www.npr.org/2019/10/08/764153179/china-has-begun-moving-xinjiang-muslim-detainees-to-formal-prisons-relatives-say) ; they have created a social credit system that targets those who deviate from CCP values with loss of rights [Social Credit System - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Credit_System) . ESPN and Disney are wrong for kowtowing to an oppressive government. They are complicit in Chinas human rights violations by taking their money while pretending serious abuses dont exist. Giving lip service to pro Democracy protesters in Hong Kong is the least we can do in the West. Making China live up to their one country two systems agreement is the right thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/2 "2019-10-09T00:26:35Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > ESPN and their yapping lapdog SAS seem to believe that money trumps values. Oh, if it were only them. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/3 "2019-10-09T00:31:47Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Oh, if it were only them. ☹ I agree but its just so wretchedly hypocritical of an ESPN that promotes wokeness in the West. ESPN COULD take a nuanced stand that acknowledges criticism of China while also acknowledging Chinas position without taking sides or kowtowing to China. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/4 "2019-10-09T21:07:10Z")
I canceled ESPN today and called their customer service line, and told them why. Besides, I can watch the Cubs on MLB. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/5 "2019-10-09T21:24:11Z")
Nobody with any intelligence takes Stephen A Smith seriously. He’s never been right about any topic, anywhere, anytime. And it’s not surprising that ESPN silences their employees who take a stance that might upset their advertisers - see Jemele Hill, among others. I know it’s not the subject of the thread, but I will admit to being pleasantly surprised with how Adam Silver is handling this. This has the potential to cost the NBA a lot of money, but to this point Silver is adamantly backing Morey’s right to say what he wants. Hopefully he stays strong on this. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/6 "2019-10-09T22:03:11Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > Nobody with any intelligence takes Stephen A Smith seriously. He’s never been right about any topic, anywhere, anytime. From 2011 through 2016, Smith was [wrong every single time in predicting the NBA Finals eventual champion.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzeuk52sd40) An 0-6 record in six guesses. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/7 "2019-10-10T00:32:27Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > I know it’s not the subject of the thread, but I will admit to being pleasantly surprised with how Adam Silver is handling this. Silver may be the only major sport commissioner I have even a scintilla of respect for, going back to the Donald Sterling/Clippers debacle. Folks in his position are pulled in a million directions, especially by the owners/corporate interests. But Silver has shown more personal integrity and genuine diplomacy skills in his tenure than I generally expect from people with his job title. He may not be perfect, but he does a better job than most. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/8 "2019-10-11T15:34:08Z")
Steven A. Smith is a collossal moron. This is not news. The NBA’s China policy is news, but let’s just talk about the grown-ups involved. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/9 "2019-10-11T17:53:41Z")
This is one of the side-effects of the consolidation of the media. ESPN doesn’t broadcast in China; there’s no reason why ESPN should be censoring itself out of concerns of losing business in China. But ESPN is owned by Disney. So all the Chinese government has to do is threaten the revenue of some other division of Disney and Disney executives will pull the leash on ESPN. Makes you wonder how ABC’s news coverage of China is similarly affected. And what Viacom is telling CBS and Comcast is telling NBC and Warner is telling CNN. I guess the communists running China have figured out how to make capitalism work in their favor. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/10 "2019-10-11T18:29:14Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Silver may be the only major sport commissioner I have even a scintilla of respect for, going back to the Donald Sterling/Clippers debacle. Folks in his position are pulled in a million directions, especially by the owners/corporate interests. But Silver has shown more personal integrity and genuine diplomacy skills in his tenure than I generally expect from people with his job title. > > He may not be perfect, but he does a better job than most. Silver is a light-year better than David Stern. Stern didn’t even try to put up a pretense of being impartial or unbiased like a commissioner is supposed to be - he once famously said that his dream NBA Finals matchup was “Lakers vs. Lakers.” ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/11 "2019-10-11T18:30:57Z")
ESPN has also been using a [map image that endorses China’s claim to the entire South China Sea, a region bordered by many neighboring nations.](https://www.reuters.com/article/china-basketball-nba-espn/espn-criticised-over-china-nba-coverage-for-using-nine-dash-line-map-idUSL3N26U2HE) (Akin to as if Illinois were to claim all of Lake Michigan for itself) ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/12 "2019-10-11T18:38:56Z")
If I’m not mistaken ESPN has had a “hosts will not express personal opinions about politics or controversial social issues” policy for years now. Both Curt Schilling and Jemele Hill got popped for breaking this rule. I think that if an athlete says something then the hosts can use that as a vehicle to discuss the athlete and their opinion but they want their hosts to be talking heads and nothing more. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-a-smith-daryl-morey-china-espn-and-values/841504/13 "2019-10-15T18:20:16Z")
LeBron has now stepped into this steaming pile of shit. He is saying that Morey “[wasn’t educated](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27847951/daryl-morey-was-misinformed-sending-tweet-china-hong-kong)” on the China/ Hong Kong situation. Personally, I am very much looking forward to LeBron ‘educating’ all of us.