NBA star Enes Kanter, who was born and raised in the oppressive country of Turkey, took a swipe at LeBron James on Tuesday over the latter’s ignorant comments on China.
Kanter, who is under constant threat of arrest and persecution by Turkish authorities and has been limited in his ability to travel outside the U.S. to play basketball because of it, was apparently shocked by LeBron James’ late Monday comments about China. The Celtics center took to Twitter and said, “Wow dude!”
Wow dude! 🏻♂️
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 15, 2019
Kanter then proceeded to list the injustices that have befallen him and his family as a result of his opposition to the oppressive rule of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Kanter then finished the list by saying, “FREEDOM ISN’T FREE.”
-Haven’t seen or talked to my family 5 years
-Jailed my dad
-My siblings can’t find jobs
-Revoked my passport
-International arrest warrant
-My family can’t leave the country
-Got Death Threats everyday
-Got attacked, harassed
-Tried to kidnap me in IndonesiaFREEDOM IS NOT FREE
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 15, 2019
Kanter’s shocked reaction came on the heels of James’ proclamation that Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s support of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong was uneducated.
LeBron says he believes Rockets GM Daryl Morey wasn’t educated when he spoke about Hong Kong and that his tweet could have hurt a lot of people, including financially pic.twitter.com/UMj71DPQH7
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 15, 2019
Not only did James slam Morey for daring to support the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, but he attacked the “negative” part of America’s freedom of speech that would allow Morey to support those yearning to be free.
Coming from an athlete who presents himself as a leader of progressive thought in America, James’ attack on free speech and on people hoping to gain the same freedoms we have in the U.S. is impossible to understand.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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