Joe Tsai re Kyrie Irving: "people are entitled to their own opinion and choice." But remember, "1.4 billion Chinese citizens stand united."

ESPN's article yesterday, Brooklyn Nets owner says choice to not have Kyrie Irving play is a team decision, 'not a decision about him', prompted a response from author Matt Sullivan.

Nets owner Joe Tsai, like LeBron, denies that the vaccine is a political issue. Which it is.

The billionaire, who hijacked a pro-democracy tweet into Chinese propaganda language in 2019, is saying this about anti-vax protesters, but he might as well be saying it about Kyrie: https://t.co/lQjDCmWoLf pic.twitter.com/7ENEabLIQe

— Matt Sullivan (@sullduggery) October 29, 2021

It is, of course, an issue of both politics and of science.

NetsDaily yesterday offered Joe Tsai: ‘I have all the patience!’ re possible Kyrie Irving return, but admits ‘nothing to update’, one of several stories based on an interview with Tsai:

Tsai would not criticize Irving’s decision, being careful to show “respect” for it, but also pointing out that in a team sport, permitting him to play only road games would be “disruptive.”

“I have all the patience!” said the Nets owner when asked what was his level of patience. “He’s on the team right? He’s on the roster. He’s just not on the court. You’re in an environment where this is a team sport You have to have patience with all sorts of things. He’s an elite player. We all know that. If he gets vaccinated, we’ll welcome him back on the team, but if he’s not vaccinated, we’ve made a decision that it would be too disruptive for him to come in and out of games, play only away games. So that was never going to fly. It’s that simple.”

The contrast with China

It's diplomatic, of course, that Tsai wouldn't criticize Irving, but was free to criticize Daryl Morey, then of the Houston Rockets, for tweeting "Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong," stand with Hong Kong." From the NetsDaily interview:

“What I respected was the choice he made after investigated all the pro’s and con’s and the facts, people are entitled to their own opinion and choice. So that’s something I respect. But, you know, do I understand why he’s not doing it? Not really.”

That really shouldn’t surprise anyone, he added.

“But when you present people with the same set of facts and circumstances, they sometimes they come up with different outcomes, different opinions. And also, I am sure he’s not only getting information from me. He’s getting information from friends, family, websites, whatever he reads. I have no visibility into that.”

Except Tsai famously said on Facebook after Morey's tweet:

The one thing that is terribly misunderstood, and often ignored, by the western press and those critical of China is that 1.4 billion Chinese citizens stand united when it comes to the territorial integrity of China and the country’s sovereignty over her homeland. This issue is non-negotiable.