LeBron James and other NBA stars teamed up in defense of sports journalist Adrian Wojnarowski after the ESPN scribe was suspended for e-mailing Senator Josh Hawley.
Los Angeles Lakers star James tweeted “#FreeWOJ” with the emoji hitting his black and white fists on Sunday, in support of Wojnarowski.
Other NBA highlights supporting Wojnarowski include Lou Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers, teammate Patrick Beverley, Anthony Tolliver of the Memphis Grizzlies, Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets, Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers and Bam Adebayo. from the Miami Heat.
In an e-mailed press release, Hawley had pointed out the NBA’s relationship with China, specifically the repression of the totalitarian regime against civil liberties in Hong Kong and the abuse of Muslim Uighurs.
Wojnarowski responded to the press release, titled “Senator Hawley criticizes the NBA for leaving for Beijing and refusing to support the United States military and police forces,” replying “F – k you” to the Hawley press office. . The Missouri Republican then posted a photo of the correspondence.
Wojnarowski, with 4 million followers on Twitter, is one of the most influential journalists in basketball. His often exclusive reports even have his own nickname: a “Woj Bomb,” which is such a well-known piece of basketball lingo that it earned a place in Urban Dictionary.
ESPN announced Friday that it had suspended Wojnarowski, calling his F-bomb Hawley “completely unacceptable behavior.”
Wojnarowski apologized and called his email “disrespectful” and “regrettable”.
After James went out publicly to back Wojnarowski, Hawley retweeted the Los Angeles Lakers star with his own forceful response: “Now try #FreeHongKong.”
