LeBron James finally broke his silence on the Daryl Morey / China / Hong Kong situation, then opened a new can of worms. James said that while we have freedom of speech in America, sometimes you need to consider the consequences of what you say or tweet. He also said that he didn’t think Houston Rockets’ GM Daryl Morey was educated about the situation when he tweeted.

The King later amended his comments, saying he had no argument with the substance of the tweet, which took a  pro-democracy stance, just the timing, which occurred just before the Lakers and Nets were scheduled to play two exhibitions on the Mainland.

“My team and this league just went through a difficult week,’’ James said. “I think people need to understand what a tweet or statement can do to others. And I believe nobody stopped and considered what could happen. Could have waited a week to send it.

“So many people could have been harmed, not only financially but also physically, emotionally and spiritually.’’

This was a disappointing look for the most powerful player on the planet who loves to portray himself as a social activist in this country and talked to Jon Stewart just a couple months ago on HBO about speaking up about social issues.  James said he would speak up even though it meant losing popularity, then refused to take a stand against China, seemingly placing his own corporate profits above human rights during the anti-government protests in Hong Kong. With his comments on Morey, James may have lost fans in Hong Kong and America, but he kept the door open to grow his popularity in China, and ultimately increase his wealth.

Protesters reacted by burning LeBron James jerseys.