LOS ANGELES – The Lakers star player LeBron James is finally speaking out about the controversial tweet from the General Manager of the Houston Rockets that launched the NBA into an international crisis while the Los Angeles team was abroad.

In a now deleted tweet, GM Daryl Morey voiced his support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong saying “Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” Numerous NBA events were canceled in China due to the controversy.

The Lakers played against the Brooklyn Nets last week. The team was greeted with notably less fanfare than they normally do when they play in China.

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James tweeted about the controversy on Monday night to “clear up the confusion.” He says he does not believe Morey took the “consequences and ramifications” of his tweet into consideration before speaking out.

The director of the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California Clayton Dube says the incident speaks to different understandings of what is going on in Hong Kong.

“Most Americans and most people in Hong Kong understand the demonstrations to be an assertion for civil liberties, continuing to have the right to speak, to assemble, but also asserting the right for a voice in the government.”