Nike Pulls Houston Rocket Merchandise From China

(Yahoo-National Review) Nike has withdrawn Houston Rockets sneakers and other merchandise from stores in major Chinese cities after the basketball teams general manager tweeted in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters. Managers of Nike stores in Beijing Shanghai and other cities received a memo from the company instructing them to remove the merchandise according to Reuters. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey had defended the Hong Kong protesters in a tweet which he subsequently retracted. Morey then posted a statement saying he hoped that those Chinese fans who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention." The NBA subsequently issued a statement calling Moreys comments inappropriate" before backtracking and defending his right to free speech in the face of widespread public backlash.