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Global brands better stay away from politics
Daryl Morey Photo: VCG
Daryl Morey, general manager of the NBA team the Houston Rockets, has obviously gotten himself into trouble. He tweeted a photo saying "fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong" on Saturday while accompanying his team in Tokyo. The tweet soon set the team's Chinese fans ablaze. It can be imagined how Morey's tweet made them disappointed and furious. Shortly afterward, CCTV sports channel and Tencent sports channel both announced they would suspend broadcasting Rockets' games. Some of the team's Chinese sponsors and business partners also started to suspend cooperation with the Rockets.
休斯敦火箭队总经理莫雷显然闯祸了。10月5日正随队在东京的他逞能针对香港事态发了一条推特，上传了一张“为自由而战，与香港站在一起”的照片。这条推特很快引爆了休斯敦火箭队的中国球迷们，可以想见莫雷的举动让他们多么失望并且愤怒。事情迅速发酵，央视体育和腾讯都宣布不再播出有休斯敦火箭队参加的比赛，一些中国赞助商和商业伙伴也宣布中止与休斯敦火箭队的合作。
The public opinion over the incident in the US is just the opposite. Some American media professionals asked Morey and Rockets to stand firm. Andrew Yang, one of the Democratic presidential candidates, said "the Chinese government banning the Rockets is a terrible move."
事情在美国和西方引起的反响也在逐渐扩散开来，美国舆论当然是与中国这边反着来的。一些美国媒体人要求删掉了该推特的莫雷和表示“他只代表自己”的火箭队都要立场坚定，美国民主党参选人之一杨安泽指责说，“中国政府禁火箭队”是糟糕的一步。
The incident shows an expanding worldwide culture gap. Imagine if Morey publicly tweeted support for the Beijing and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, would rioters in Hong Kong smash up Rockets' logos in the city?
这件事是世界裂痕不断扩大的时代发生的又一起文化摩擦。设想一下，莫雷如果发一条公开挺北京和香港特区政府的推特，香港的那些示威者会不会把火箭队在香港的标志给砸了？
Commercial and cultural organizations which engage in transnational operations should manage their attitudes and statements over sensitive issues. Impulsive words can easily trigger a backlash.
所以说从事跨国经营的商业及文化组织都需要管理好针对敏感事务的表态，不可冲动胡来，否则不得罪这头就得罪那头，甚至两头不讨好。
As the general manager of the Rockets, Morey shoulders the main responsibility for the marketing of his team, but he invited trouble on himself and offended the public on the Chinese mainland. His professional capability is simply too poor.
莫雷身为火箭队总经理，对火箭队的市场营销负有主要责任，却主动引火烧身，逞冒犯中国内地公众的能，他作为经理人的职业素质不能不说太低了。
Some Americans try to link Morey's tweet with so-called "freedom of speech." That is ridiculous. Morey does have the freedom to praise Hong Kong protesters, just like the Chinese fans also have the freedom to abandon the Rockets. The problem is that Morey's freedom is at the expense of Rockets' huge commercial interests, which the team is unwilling to give up. It's a paradox with which Americans are grappling.
美国一些人极力将莫雷发那个推特往“言论自由”上靠。这种解释好滑稽。他的确有称赞香港示威者的自由，但中国的球迷们也有抛弃火箭队的自由。问题在于莫雷个人的自由要以火箭队的巨大商业利益做代价，后者舍不得，这本来就是美国人自己之间的纠结。
Respecting customers is a universal business rule. Morey has to choose between safeguarding his individual freedom of speech and protecting the Rockets' commercial interests by respecting the feelings of Chinese fans. When he opted for the former, the Rockets will have to make a second choice from the perspective of the team.
尊重客户，这是普世的商业规则。莫雷要在维护个人的言论自由和通过尊重中国球迷的感情来保护火箭队的在华商业利益之间进行选择。当他选择前者时，火箭队就要从该组织的角度进行二次选择。
This incident has nothing to do with the Chinese government. Yang's accusations were a poor tactic of a politician aimed at soliciting attention. The issue first of all is about the market. All Chinese fans are watching how the Rockets and NBA handle this crisis. Whether the team apologizes, in what way, and how it deals with Morey will directly influence fans' enthusiasm for the Rockets and even the NBA.
这件事无关中国政府，民主党参选人杨安泽说那样的话，属于一个政客以低劣的方式蹭热点。这首先是个市场问题，火箭队和NBA如何处理这场危机，全体中国的球迷们都在盯着看。火箭队是否表达歉意，以什么方式表达，以及对莫雷是否做出处理，将直接影响中国球迷对火箭队甚至NBA的热情。
It's believed the Rockets have felt the intricacy of the matter as the franchise is also facing great ideological pressure from the US side.
相信火箭队感受到事情的棘手，因为美国那边同样有一只意识形态的手枪顶在该队的腰间。
How much wisdom the Rockets have to overcome the crisis and minimize the adverse effects will become an interesting test case.
火箭队有多大的智慧来处理这场危机，把不良影响最小化，将成为一个有意思的样本。
The biggest lesson which can be drawn from the matter is that entities that value commercial interests must make their members speak cautiously. Chinese consumers are not overly sensitive. Wherever it is, touching a raw political nerve is extremely risky. Morey has neither the IQ nor the EQ to talk about political topics. He will become an example of clumsiness on some MBA courses.
此事的最大教训还是告诉人们，看重商业利益的机构，一定要管理好其主要成员的嘴巴。中国消费者并非有超出世界平均标准的敏感，无论在什么地方，捅政治的马蜂窝都有着极高风险。莫雷根本没有碰政治话题的水平，他的智商和情商显然都不够。他将作为一个笨拙的符号被某些MBA课程提及。
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