Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta ‘likes’ IG comments calling for Daryl Morey to be fired after Hong Kong tweet

Despite Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta’s last-ditch attempt to calm the waters, with reports coming out saying there will be no discipline for general manager Daryl Morey after the furor stemming from his Hong Kong tweet, his Instagram feed says he might be thinking otherwise.

The Athletic’s Alykhan Bijani took note of the owner “liking” two comments from two pro-firing Morey fans, with some even afraid that keeping him on board would cost them the support of China as a whole.

Tilman Fertitta liked these comments on Instagram of fans/commenters wanting him to get rid of Daryl Morey. #Rockets pic.twitter.com/0VGkgk9WmN

— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) October 6, 2019

Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous administrative region of the Republic of China, has been the scene of violent protests for democracy during the past four months. These rallies were ignited by a plan to allow extraditions to mainland China — a plan that has now been scrapped — fueling the fear of an erosion of liberties in Hong Kong under the 50-year “one country, two systems” model China agreed and adopted before a 1997 pass of the baton from Great Britain.

The NBA, the Rockets, and even star James Harden have been trying to calm the waters since Morey’s tweet, as China has now vowed to stop broadcasting NBA games and Chinese sponsors have pulled out of the Rockets’ side — turning a tweet into an avalanche of chaos.

The league has made constant business with China in the heels of Yao Ming’s popularity and his work to grow the game, but now finds itself in murky waters with one of its biggest business partners. The Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers are expected to play in Shanghai and Shenzhen later this week as part of the annual NBA China Games.

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