The NBA showdown in China continues.
Players won't be under a gag order and the league won't apologize after the GM of the Rockets tweeted his support for the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.
The tweet has not gone over well in Beijing but Commissioner Silver said the league would continue to "support freedom of expression and certainly freedom of expression of the NBA community."
Silver is in Shanghai today for a pair of NBA exhibition games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets, saying he hoped to meet with officials to discuss the impasse.
State-run TV decided it won't broadcast the exhibition games and threatened to take more steps.
Initially, the NBA put out a statement that seemed to side with the Chinese government, prompting Florida Senator Marco Rubio to tweet that the NBA was throwing the Rockets owner "under the bus" to "protect (the) NBA's market access in China".
Image courtesy Getty