For many years now, the Enes Kanter center of the Boston Celtics has spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party and its human rights abuses. Now, he plans to celebrate his US citizenship and the freedom it entails by changing his last name.
Athletic reporter Shams Charania reported on Sunday that Kanter had planned to legally change his surname to “Freedom”. “Kanter” will be his new middle name.
Boston Celtics Center Enes Kanter is legally changing its name to Enes Kanter Freedom, @TheAthletic @Stadium have learned. Kanter will be his middle name, Freedom will be his new surname. He became a US citizen on Monday.
– Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 28, 2021
He will be sworn in as a US citizen on Monday. His last name is still listed as “Kanter” at 5pm ET on Celtics website, but his Twitter control has been changed to “Enes Kanter FREEDOM. ”
Kanter’s criticism of China dates back to 2019 when then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey spoke out in support of protesters in Hong Kong. At that time, the NBA star LeBron James said Morey was wrong to speak out.
“I don’t want a word or a grudge against… Daryl Morey, but I believe he was not educated about the current situation and he spoke,” James said.
“And a lot of people could have been harmed, not only financially but physically, emotionally, mentally. So just be careful what we tweet, what we say and what we do. While yes, we do have freedom of speech, but there can also be a lot of negativity that comes with that.”
LeBron James on whether Daryl Morey should be reprimanded for his tweets pic.twitter.com/6hCE8vCyNn
– Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) October 15, 2019
Kanter is clear aimed at James on Twitter after those comments and said, “FREE IS NOT FREE.”
– I haven’t seen or talked to my family in 5 years
– My father was harmed
– My siblings can’t find a job
– Revoke my passport
– International arrest warrant
– My family can’t leave the country
-Got daily death threats
-Got attacked, harassed
– Tried to kidnap me in IndonesiaFREEDOM NOT FREE
– Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) October 15, 2019
Kanter is of Turkish descent and has spoken out against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He said he has not been allowed to visit his family since 2015 after Turkey canceled his passport and issued a warrant for his arrest.
“I have been receiving death threats for many years now,” Kanter wrote in an Op-Ed in Boston Globe on October 10, 2019. “This is the price I would be willing to pay if it were to be necessary to defend what I believe to be true. It is very worth it. ”
He Kanter has many times be censured James and the NBA protested China’s refusal to condemn human rights abuses. Just this month, Kanter said CNN that other players speaking out about social justice movements like Black Lives Matter have encouraged him to be more outspoken with China.
“The NBA made me do this,” said Kanter. “Because every time one of the NBA teams or the commissioner speaks, they say we’re encouraging the players to talk about whatever they want to say.
“We are giving our players the freedom to speak out about all the injustices that are happening around the world, all the human rights abuses around the world. So they gave me this right.”
Should more NBA players join Kanter to speak out against China?
CNN said Kanter met privately with NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said he supports Kanter’s right to free speech. However, the federation, which has historically profited from its relationship with China, has yet to issue a statement condemning the human rights abuses.
“If they really support me, they’ll put something out there,” Kanter said. “They’re going to make some sort of statement.”
“People think I’m in politics. I don’t do politics. I do human rights”.
The U.S. government estimates one million Uighurs and other ethnic and religious minorities have been detained in Chinese internment camps since 2017, according to the U.S. government. Foreign Office. Kanter told CNN that not being condemned for these abuses is for profit.
“There are so many athletes, so many actors, so many singers and so many people with backgrounds who are speaking out about many issues in the world,” he said.
“But when it comes to China… they are scared because they care too much about money, they care too much about business and they care too much about endorsement deals.”
“For me, human rights and saving lives come first.”
https://www.westernjournal.com/china-will-rage-nba-star-savages-xi-murderous-communists-clever-name-change/ China will rage after NBA star ravages Xi and his murderous communists with a wise name change