Weeks after a couple in Philadelphia was ejected from the Wells Fargo Center after holding “Free Hong Kong” signs, three rows of fans in the Toyota Center hoisted signs in support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong without repercussion in Thursday’s season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“We have been watching the Hong Kong protests the last four months. It’s sad to see,” said Tram Ho, a Houston physician who organized the display.

Last week, after film producer Andrew Duncan bought 300 tickets to Friday’s Brooklyn Nets game, hundreds of demonstrators wore black “Stand With Hong Kong” T-shirts.

Ho, who is Vietnamese, said she spent six months as a refugee in Hong Kong between 1981 and 1982 before arriving in the United States. After watching a BBC report on last week’s demonstration in Brooklyn, she was inspired to do something similar in Houston.

“It brought me the idea that we should do the same thing, but I don’t have enough to pay for 300, so we bought 30 tickets,” she said with a laugh. “Through volunteers in the community, we were able to connect with others and bring awareness and thank (Rockets general manager Daryl) Morey, who supported the movement.”

Morey’s now-deleted tweet in support of pro-democracy protests ignited the uproar after the tweet angered the Chinese government and some fans in the United States. But Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and NBA commissioner Adam Silver also received significant criticism for comments and behavior which appeared to denounce Morey’s tweet. Silver has since voiced his support for Morey and the right to free speech.

In light of the ejection in Philadelphia, Ho wore a jacket to avoid being stopped at the entrance on Thursday, but others openly wore the same black T-shirt which read “Fight for Freedom” on the front and “China Stop Bullying” on the back.

Her group included members of Houston’s Vietnamese community as well as some from Hong Kong.

Their signs read ‘Stand For Hong Kong,’ ‘Thank you Morey,’ ‘Money Can’t Silence Us,’ and ‘CCP Can’t Bully Us,’ in reference to the Communist Party of China.

“Of course I’ve been following the news in Hong Kong, that really concerns me,” said Chris Wong, who was born in Hong Kong and moved to Houston 10 years ago.

“But what happened in the NBA really shocked me. The initial response and how the Rockets wanted to keep people quiet and not talk about this and Morey had to delete his tweet; we were so mad because it shouldn’t be happening in America.”

After Thursday’s game, group members said they intend to keep wearing the “Fight for Freedom” shirts to games until “(Hong Kong) gets (its) freedom.” They’re planning a larger protest outside the Toyota Center ahead of Saturday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans with members of Houston’s Tibetan, Korean, Filipino and Taiwanese communities.

“We’re here to send the message: How much freedom are you willing to give to get access to the market in China?” Wong said. “You see the diversity of people, it’s good that we get together because we enjoy the freedom that we have here.”