Nets owner Joe Tsai's rift with Daryl Morey over pro-Hong Kong tweet, deep China ties highlighted in report

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Brooklyn Nets team owner Joe Tsai’s ties with China came under scrutiny in a new report Thursday, days before the team plays the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Tsai, who was born in Taiwan, is a naturalized Canadian citizen who holds a Hong Kong passport. He is a co-founder and executive chairman of Alibaba and, in addition to the Nets, owns the WNBA’s New York Liberty and the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League.

His efforts to support the social justice movement in the U.S. come into conflict with statements he made about the personal freedoms of Chinese citizens and the silence around the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region of the Communist country.

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Nets owner Joe Tsai attends the Nets' game against the Indiana Pacers at Barclays Center on Oct. 29, 2021 in New York City. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

According to ESPN, the conflict reared its head most notably in 2019 when then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted his support for Hong Kong protesters as the Nets were set to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in a preseason tour of the country. Morey tweeted, "Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong," before deleting it after backlash.

Supporters of the former Rockets general manager believed Tsai was pushing the league to fire Morey and push the league to offer a resounding apology to the Chinese government, ESPN reported. The assertions were reportedly denied.

Brooklyn was also accused of refunding Morey's purchase of a Barclays Center suite when the Rockets came to town. Morey believed that Tsai had "disinvited him" but sources