James Harden of the Houston Rockets speaks to the media during practice and media availability as part of the 2019 NBA Japan Games at a training facility on October 7, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.

Senators from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to Marco Rubio, R-Fla., found common ground in piling on the NBA for its handling of a tweet from Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey. On Friday, Morey shared an image that read, "Fight for Freedom. Stand for Hong Kong." His tweet, referencing the months of pro-democracy protests in the semi-autonomous Hong Kong, ignited backlash in China, a major source of revenue for the NBA.

U.S. senators accused the National Basketball Association of putting cash over human rights Monday as the league appeared to back communist China after a team executive's comment set off a firestorm in the key market.

Criticism of the sports league mounted in the U.S. after NBA spokesman Michael Bass issued a statement Sunday saying Morey's views "have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable." Lawmakers, most of whom speak out against China's communist regime and its trade abuses, accused the sports league of valuing revenue over free expression.

"No one should implement a gag rule on Americans speaking out for freedom," Schumer said in a tweeted statement Monday. "I stand with the people of Hong Kong in their pursuit of democratic rights. I stand with Americans who want to voice their support for the people of Hong Kong. Unacceptable."

Schumer tweet

In a tweet Monday, Rubio argued the league is throwing Morey "under the bus to please" the Chinese government. Other senators, including Republicans Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Rick Scott of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Democrats Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Ron Wyden of Oregon, have criticized the NBA since Sunday.

Marco Rubio tweet

Rick Scott tweet

Ted Cruz tweet

Brian Schatz tweet

Ron Wyden tweet

At least three Democratic presidential candidates — entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. — also criticized China for trying to curb Morey's criticism and the NBA for yielding to Beijing's pressure.

Andrew Yang tweet

Julian Castro tweet

Elizabeth Warren tweet

A Chinese version of Bass' Sunday statement about Morey was posted on the league's verified account on Chinese social media platform Weibo. A CNBC translation found apparent differences between the league's statement in English and the Chinese version, which condemned Morey and had a more apologetic tone.

However, an NBA spokesperson said "there should be no discrepancy" between statements. "We have seen various interpretations of the translation of the Mandarin version, but our statement in English is the league's official statement," the spokesperson said.

China, the most populous country in the world with about 1.4 billion people, is the league's most important international market. As it announced a five-year extension of a China streaming partnership with Tencent in July, reportedly worth $1.5 billion, the NBA said about 490 million people in China watched league content on the company's platforms in the 2018-2019 season. That's more than the population of the entire United States.

Morey tweeted his support for Hong Kong only a few days before the Los Angeles Lakers, with face of the league LeBron James, are set to play the Brooklyn Nets in an exhibition game in China on Thursday. The Rockets — who drafted Chinese superstar Yao Ming in 2002 and became perhaps the most popular NBA team in China — were in Japan as the NBA dealt with the repercussions of Morey's comment.

After Morey's tweet, the Chinese Basketball Association — which Yao leads — ended its cooperation with the Rockets. China canceled an exhibition game between the G League affiliates (effectively the NBA's minor league teams) of the Rockets and Dallas Mavericks set for later this month, according to The Athletic.