Houston Rockets

==Politics==
On October 4, 2019, the Rockets' general manager [[Daryl Morey]] issued a tweet that supported [[2019–20 Hong Kong protests|the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests]], which drew criticism from the Rockets' owner [[Tilman Fertitta]] who said that while Morey was the best general manager in the NBA, the Rockets were not a political organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/rockets-gm-daryl-morey-tweets-support-for-hong-kong-protests-prompting-response-from-owner-130019981.html|title=Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweets support for Hong Kong protests, prompting response from owner|website=sports.yahoo.com|date=October 5, 2019}}</ref> Morey later deleted the tweet.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rockets GM Daryl Morey in hot water after Hong Kong tweet |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/rockets-gm-daryl-morey-in-hot-water-after-hong-kong-tweet/ar-AAIjIMT?li=BBnba9I |agency=MSN |work=USA Today |date=October 5, 2019}}</ref> Morey's tweet resulted in the [[Chinese Basketball Association]]'s suspension of its relationship with the Rockets and the issuance of a statement of dissatisfaction from the consulate office of [[China]] in Houston.<ref name=apnewsrocket>{{cite news |title=Rockets' general manager's Hong Kong comments anger China |url=https://www.apnews.com/0a660e9e10664e31bf6ee359c22058cf|work=Associated Press News |date=October 7, 2019}}</ref> On October 6, Morey and the NBA each issued a separate statement addressing the original tweet; Morey said that he never intended his tweet to cause any offense, while the NBA said the tweet was "Regrettable".<ref>{{cite news|last=Chang|first=Joy|date=October 7, 2019|title=Houston Rockets GM's Hong Kong tweet outrages Chinese fans|url=https://www.scmp.com/video/hong-kong/3031915/houston-rockets-gms-hong-kong-tweet-outrages-chinese-fans|work=SCMP|access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Victor|first=Daniel|date=October 7, 2019|title=Hong Kong Protests Put N.B.A. on Edge in China|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/sports/basketball/nba-china-hong-kong.html|work=NYT}}</ref> The statements drew attention and subsequent bipartisan criticism from several US politicians.<ref name=apnewsrocket/> Chinese media outlets, including the [[Communist Party of China|Chinese Communist Party]]-run ''[[People's Daily]]'', described Morey and the NBA's statements as non-apologetic and unacceptable, because they did not contain the word "apologize".<ref>{{cite news |title=莫雷、NBA声明均未道歉 网友：这是对中国的无视和挑衅 |trans-title=Morey and NBA statements did not apologize. Netizen: This is a disregard and provocation against China |url=http://society.people.com.cn/n1/2019/1007/c428181-31385995.html |access-date=October 7, 2019 |work=society.people.com.cn |publisher=[[People's Daily]] |date=October 7, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=NBA官方强调莫雷仅代表个人 全文无惩罚无道歉 |trans-title=NBA officially stressed that Morey only represents himself, no punishment, no apology issued |url=https://sports.sina.com.cn/basketball/nba/2019-10-07/doc-iicezzrr0516313.shtml |access-date=October 7, 2019 |publisher=[[Sina Corp|Sina]] Sport |date=October 7, 2019}}</ref>