The Philadelphia 76ers and the Wells Fargo Center responded to complaints from fans that two people holding “Free Hong Kong” and “Free HK” signs were ejected from Tuesday's preseason game against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.
The fan and his wife were ejected after holding the signs and reportedly yelling “Free Hong Kong” as they were removed from their seats during the second quarter of action. The team responded with the following:
Via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer:
“The Wells Fargo Center's event staff is responsible for the security and comfort of all guests at arena events, including 76ers games. At last evening's game, following multiple complaints from guests and verbal confrontations with others in attendance, two individuals were warned by Wells Fargo Center staff about their continuing disruption of the fan experience. Ultimately, the decision was made by Wells Fargo Center personnel to remove the guests from the premises, which was accomplished without incident.”
The venue also issued a separate statement, explaining what led to the fans' ejection:
“During the second quarter of last night's 76ers game, Wells Fargo Center security responded to a situation that was disrupting the live event experience for our guests. After three separate warnings, the two individuals were escorted out of the arena without incident. The security team employed respectful and standard operating procedures.”
It's still unknown what kind of “disruption” the fans brought to the arena, and it's unclear if it was merely their highly-visible signs or actual shouting in protest.
Here are the controversial signs. I know, earth shattering right? Obvious why the NBA would have a problem with this. Thanks to @Christie_Ileto for sending me this photo: pic.twitter.com/Y1GydtGked
— Sam Wachs (@gogowachs) October 9, 2019
The NBA recently has had to tiptoe around the China-Hong Kong battle after drawing ire from the Chinese broadcast company CCTV stemming from a pro-Hong Kong tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey — an issue league commissioner Adam Silver is still trying to navigate.
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