NBA star Lebron James shocked Americans with his attack on the Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey for his tweet supporting the Hong Kong protesters.

Behind the scenes, James made it even worse by arguing that the NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, should punish Morey because of his remark, according to one report.

Now ESPN, which has had its own problems bending over for China, is continuing to step in it too, as the Heritage Foundation’s John Cooper points out in a series of tweets.

Here’s ESPN host Jay Williams saying there’s no real point to criticizing China since it wouldn’t change China’s behavior and Elle Duncan calling them “anti-government protesters” instead of “pro-democracy protesters.”

Also, @espn is still shamefully and falsely referring to the protesters in #HongKong as "anti-government protesters." Moments before, in intro-ing the segment, anchor @elleduncanESPN used the term, with a similar chyron underneath: pic.twitter.com/Zg6xt7MCah

— John Cooper (@thejcoop) October 15, 2019

More? Stephen Smith says Morey should have been more considerate and “could have waited.” How long should you wait before you call out oppression?

Let's check out ESPN2 annnnnnnnnnnd:

On "SportsCenter," the protests in #HongKong aren't just "anti-government protests," they are an "anti-government movement." pic.twitter.com/AIwmYsxv0t

— John Cooper (@thejcoop) October 15, 2019

This was perhaps the worst, panelist Kendrick Perkins saying it wasn’t Lebron James who was being selfish, but Morey because he “wasn’t looking out for others.”

This is from ESPN's "The Jump" today, in which a panelist says Daryl Morey should probably get new social media training, and "LeBron is not the selfish person at hand, Daryl Morey actually is." #HongKong #StandWithHongKong pic.twitter.com/OYRl9k5b63

— John Cooper (@thejcoop) October 15, 2019

Jorge Sedano argues that James may have been looking out for the safety of the players.

On today's @HQonESPN, Jorge @Sedano makes the argument that Daryl Morey's #HongKong tweet essentially put LeBron and his teammates in danger.

Though props to @IzGutierrez for calling out the hypocrisy here: pic.twitter.com/oGtTQl4pZM

— John Cooper (@thejcoop) October 15, 2019

But as Izzy Gutierrez points out, it’s hypocritical that James wants to speak out on issues in the U.S. but doesn’t want Morey to talk about issues elsewhere. Plus he went a step further if the report is correct in demanding that Morey be punished for his speech, thus trying to chill any criticism of China.

Finally, Cooper notes Smith criticizing media for “demanding James voice be heard.”

And, to top it off, @stephenasmith on @SportsCenter tonight saying, oddly, it's unfair to demand LeBron's "voice be heard" despite…LeBron voluntarily reigniting this controversy Monday with his own comments #StandWithHongKong: pic.twitter.com/aV38cW0LQ2

— John Cooper (@thejcoop) October 15, 2019

But it was LeBron who volunteered his own opinion when asked.

ESPN wants to try to justify the indefensible. But it’s just not flying.