Sen. Ted Cruz slammed LeBron James for “kissing up to Chinese communists and tyrants” — amid the backlash the Lakers superstar faces for his recent comments on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, according to a report.
“I got to say LeBron James, he’s a hell of a player, but it sure seems his comments were more interested in money and making bucks and I get it, Nike is a big sponsor of his and he makes a whole lot of money, but kissing up to Chinese communists and tyrants and apologizing for murderers, that’s not a good look for the NBA,” Cruz told TMZ.
The Republican senator from Texas said he didn’t have a problem with athletes speaking out about politics.
“What I have a problem with is when they don’t know what they’re talking about and they end up defending tyrants,” Cruz said about James, who called Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey “misinformed or not really educated” for a since-deleted tweet of a meme that said “Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.”
Cruz, a Rockets fan, said if anyone needs to be educated, it’s the four-time league MVP.
“I would encourage LeBron to learn a little bit about the people of Tibet, learn a little bit about Falun Gong, the religious persecution and the torture and the horrific human rights abuses that occur in China,” he told the news outlet, using the name of a spiritual discipline.
“Now, that doesn’t mean we should never do business with China,” he added, “but we don’t need to adopt their values. We don’t need to embrace censorship and propaganda — and sadly, that’s what the Chinese government wants the NBA to do.”
When asked if he had advice for James, Cruz said he’d tell him what he’d advise any US citizen.
“If you want to engage on an issue, actually engage on the substance and know what you’re talking about and defend basic principles — freedom is good, democracy is good, human rights are good.
“And, those principles are eternal and you shouldn’t be willing to sell out freedom because you want to make a few bucks on sneaker sales,” he said.
A bipartisan coalition including Cruz and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has sent a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver assailing the league for not sticking up for Morey, according to Roll Call.
