Fouled

On Oct. 4, Daryl Morey, general manager of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, tweeted an image with the popular protest slogan: “Fight for Freedom, stand with Hong Kong.” He quickly deleted the message, but the damage had been done. Chinese sponsors paused their deals with the Rockets, major Chinese broadcasters dropped Rockets games, and Chinese authorities canceled two exhibition games for a team affiliated with the Rockets, according to The New York Times.

The NBA is popular in China, and the Rockets have a large Chinese fan base because Chinese native Yao Ming played for the team for nearly a decade.

Concerned about losing the Chinese market, Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta distanced himself from Morey, and NBA spokesman Mike Bass sent out a statement saying it was “regrettable” that Morey’s tweet “deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China.” But the Chinese-language statement the NBA posted on Weibo used much stronger language, saying it was “extremely disappointed in the inappropriate comment” and that Morey’s views “undoubtedly seriously hurt the feelings of Chinese basketball fans.”

The NBA faced a backlash from politicians and Americans who saw the organization as choosing money over morals. In the United States, the NBA had allowed its players and coaches to express political views, and the NBA refused to hold its All-Star Game in North Carolina because of a bathroom bill that the NBA claimed discriminated against transgender people.

Chinese censors also banned South Park, the irreverent animated show on Comedy Central, from the Chinese internet after a recent episode mocked how movies self-censored to appeal to the Chinese market.

South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone responded with a fake apology: “Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts,” the statement reads. “We too love money more than freedom and democracy. Xi doesn’t look like Winnie the Pooh at all. Tune into our 300th episode this Wednesday at 10! Long live the great Communist Party of China. May the autumn’s sorghum harvest be bountiful. We good now China?”

Survived

A baby born with part of his skull missing is the first with the condition, called exencephaly, to survive. Doctors diagnosed Lucas Santa Maria, now 7 months old, with the condition while he was in the womb. They recommended his mother abort him since most babies born with exencephaly die within hours of birth. Maria Santa Maria refused, and her baby was born otherwise healthy. Dr. Tim Vogel of the North Jersey Brain and Spine Center operated on Lucas, covering his exposed brain tissue with skin. Doctors are still unsure about Lucas’ chances for normal development, but, as his skull bones grow, Vogel told CNN, there is a possibility his brain can be protected.

Valued

Devolved Parliament, a satirical painting by the British artist Banksy, sold for $12.2 million at a recent auction in London. The canvas, finished in 2009, shows the House of Commons empty of members. Instead, its seats are filled with chimpanzees, some hooting, some serious, one standing, book in hand, in the middle of what looks like a speech. In a social media post, the anonymous artist appeared to make a connection between Devolved Parliament and a previous painting of his of a row of chimps, one wearing a sign that says, “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge.” Its sale price was a record for Banksy and far outstripped the auction house’s estimated value for the painting.