While the NBA is gearing up for its upcoming return to play in its bubble league in Orlando, an unusual story emerged thanks to an email sent by the Worldwide Leader in Sports’ top hoops insider. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN found himself in hot water on Friday morning when an email he sent to Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, was posted onto Twitter.
Hawley, who has made being a China hawk one of his signature political issues, wrote a letter to Adam Silver in his quest to investigate the ties between the league and the country that made headlines last fall due to Rockets general manager Daryl Morey. You can read the letter here if you’d like, but the release made its way to Wojnarowski’s inbox. In response, here is what Woj had to say:
Don’t criticize #China or express support for law enforcement to @espn. It makes them real mad @Outkick pic.twitter.com/WJDxrotUBD
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 10, 2020
Seeing as how you have been alive at any point in the last several years, you will not be surprised to learn that this was promptly turned into quite the thing among more right-leaning media outlets. Several hours after Hawley posted his tweet, Wojnarowski issued an apology, and ESPN then reprimanded him for his “completely unacceptable behavior.”
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 10, 2020
https://t.co/cHyqaxBLQC pic.twitter.com/b2gPBcNzS3
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) July 10, 2020
Hawley — who it stands to reason is more well-suited to do something about foreign policy than Adrian Wojnarowski by nature of him being a United States senator — did not accept the apology, as his laser-focus is on ESPN calling out the NBA about its relationship with China.
Don’t make @wojespn apologize. He’s just saying what he really thinks. Call out the @NBA. You know, your job https://t.co/qLX5VsdO6R
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 10, 2020
Missouri does not have an NBA team. More than 120,000 Americans have died due to a pandemic over the last 4-5 months, with expanded unemployment insurance for those who have lost their jobs in recent months as a result of the economic struggles that exist due to the pandemic set to expire in 15 days.