Donald Trump criticizes top NBA coaches amid China controversy

US President Donald Trump broke his silence about the advancing tensions between the NBA and China, targeting the coaches of the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors. He reportedly called Steve Kerr, the Warriors' head coach, a little boy and claimed that he could not even answer the questions properly, as he was so scared. 

Daryl Morey faces criticism for supporting Hong Kong protest

Steve Kerr, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump's presidency, revealed the reason behind not commenting on the NBA's standoff with China, by stating that he cannot pass any judgements as it was something he has been recently reading about.  

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Trump also said that he noticed Kerr shaking and that coach Gregg Popovich was favouring China. Daryl Morey, the general manager of Houston Rockets, has been facing extreme criticism from across the country for his tweet, supporting the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong. However, he subsequently deleted his "stand with Hong Kong" tweet. 

According to reports, all of the NBA’s official Chinese partners have abandoned its ties with the league as it still continues to struggle with the fallout. Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner recently released a statement in the defence of the league and Morey’s tweet, quoting that the league would not pursue profits over principles on Tuesday in Tokyo.  

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Gregg Popovich also supported Silver’s leadership by claiming that he was just practising his freedom of speech, and that his statement made Gregg feel proud. He also added that Silver has been a great and courageous leader, to a global media agency. 

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Trump responds furiously  

Soon after signing the Executive Orders, Trump took a call on the NBA's standoff with China. After calling Kerr a little scared boy, he jumped his remarks on Popovich, saying that he was behaving same as Kerr but a little less scared. He also said that he is sad because of the fact that they spoke ill about the United States, that too when the talks were about China. 

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(with agency inputs)