Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James partakes in warm ups before an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo) didn’t mince words responding to LeBron James’ ignorance comments regarding China and Hong Kong. As Nick Arama detailed this morning, James decided to lecture Houston Rockets’ Manager Daryl Morey regarding his need to be more “educated” about the situation before weighing in on it.

“So I don’t believe, I don’t want to get into a word, or sentence, feud with Daryl, with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn’t educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke. So many people could have been harmed, not only financial, but physically, emotionally, spiritually. So just be careful what we tweet, what we say, and what we do,” he declared. “Even though yes, we do have freedom of speech, there can be a lot of negatives,” James declared. He criticized Morey for allegedly being “uneducated” on the subject, after saying he, James, wasn’t sufficiently educated enough on the “political side” to make a comment on the substance of the question. “When you’re misinformed or you’re not educated about something – and I’m just talking about the tweet itself – you never know the ramifications that can happen. We all see what that did, not only did for our league but for all of us in America, for people in China as well. Sometimes you have to think through the things that you say that may cause harm not only for yourself but for the majority of people. I think that’s just a prime example of that.” (READ: LeBron James Gives Horrible Response on China Controversy and Daryl Morey’s Support of Hong Kong.)

There has been plenty of (understandable) blowback on James since.

Senator Josh Hawley, having just returned from Hong Kong (READ: Josh Hawley Has a Great Suggestion for Hong Kong Leader Angered By Him Calling It a Police State), issued his own rebuke.

Having just been in Hong Kong – on the streets & with the protestors – this kind of garbage is hard to take. LeBron, are YOU educated on “the situation”? Why don’t you go to Hong Kong? Why don’t you meet the people there risking their lives for their most basic liberties https://t.co/KvphH9RiAl — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 15, 2019

This statement is unbelievable. “So many people could have been harmed”? By Daryl Morey daring to express sympathy for democracy? News flash: people ARE being harmed – shot, beaten, gassed – right now in Hong Kong. By China. By the Communist Party the NBA is so eager to appease — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 15, 2019

“Having just been in Hong Kong – on the streets & with the protestors – this kind of garbage is hard to take. LeBron, are YOU educated on “the situation”? Why don’t you go to Hong Kong? Why don’t you meet the people there risking their lives for their most basic liberties,” tweeted Hawley.

He continued: “This statement is unbelievable. “So many people could have been harmed”? By Daryl Morey daring to express sympathy for democracy? News flash: people ARE being harmed – shot, beaten, gassed – right now in Hong Kong. By China. By the Communist Party the NBA is so eager to appease.”

Hawley is exactly right. James’ pontificating regarding the need of people to educate themselves on a situation before speaking on it, while speaking on a situation about which he’s either un(der)educated or in which he has a not-so-veiled vested interest is the height (no pun intended) of hypocrisy.

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