It all started with a tweet. 

  During the past few weeks, the Hong Kong protests have taken center stage in the United States. Sparked by a now-deleted tweet sent out by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey on October 4th, the message contains a picture expressing support for Hong Kong. This was seen as a shot towards China, in spite of the recent Chinese proposal of an extradition bill that has spurred Hong Kong protests. 

  China proceeded to cancel NBA-sponsored events involving players from both the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers, leading up to a pair of exhibition games between the two teams in China later that week. China also decided to cancel all scheduled TV broadcasts of NBA preseason games. The rest of the NBA community quickly became involved, with commissioner Adam Silver’s statement supporting “equality, respect and freedom of expression” leaving fans confused to which side Silver was on, as he never directly stated that he sided with Morey. 

  China plays a big role in the NBA’s financial success, as the NBA has already suffered “substantial” losses from Chinese corporations. Following the negative response from Chinese businesses, several other American companies have appeared to take a stand against supporters of Hong Kong.

  Activision Blizzard, an American gaming company, quickly kicked a Hong Kong supporter offline during a post-match interview. With such a large part of its market in China, Apple abruptly shut down an app called HKmap.live, allowing protesters to track the followings of the Chinese police.

  Two weeks after Morey’s tweet, NBA star LeBron James commented on the ongoing situation between Hong Kong and China. He, too, came off as a supporter of the Chinese, saying Morey was “either misinformed or not really educated on the situation,” and did not think of the consequences resulting from his tweet.

  The main focus of this entire controversy should be the ethical question of choosing either money or morals. The NBA, as well as other corporations, have decided to side with China in order to avoid major financial losses. 

  What they are not considering are the millions of people being suppressed by the Chinese totalitarian government, both in Hong Kong and mainland China, where Muslim Uighurs are being detained in concentration camps. They are not considering the ideals of democracy, which is what the U.S. was built on, and are the exact values that Hong Kong is fighting for. Lastly, they are not considering the impact their decisions have on the next generation of wide-eyed American children that look up to them.  

  The United States must put the lucrative Chinese market aside and support Hong Kong. The U.S. is the most influential and powerful country in the world, and should not feel compelled to cede to a communist regime, one that limits the speech of their own people.  

  Americans, the choice is yours–appeal to the favors of the Chinese government in order to maintain a healthy economic relationship with them, or, choose the moral high ground and stand with Hong Kong.