NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, whose “free China” advocacy has caused the communist nation to ban all Boston Celtics games on television, defended his activism and U.S. citizenship Thursday in an op-ed.
“Americans might find the thought absurd, but the threat of prison is all too real for those living under authoritarian rule around the world,” Freedom writes in the op-ed for The Atlantic, noting his surprise upon arriving in the United States that a teammate could criticize then-President Barack Obama without being jailed.
Freedom writes that he came to the United States after Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who became president of Turkey in 2014, persecuted his family and issued a warrant for his arrest as a “terrorist” after he criticized the Ankara government.
After spending six years without a country due to Turkey revoking his passport, the Celtics center became a U.S. citizen on Nov. 29, changing his surname from Kanter to Freedom.
“I’m overwhelmed with emotion just writing these words: I, Enes Kanter Freedom, am proud to be a citizen of the United States of America, the land of the free, and home of the brave,” he writes.
The op-ed comes as Freedom draws increasing attention for his anti-China activism, which has challenged the NBA’s close business ties with the communist nation.
After his U.S. citizenship ceremony, Freedom said in a Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson that NBA officials had pressured him not to wear a pair of “free Tibet” game shoes.
An NBA spokesman emailed a statement to The Washington Times on Thursday, disputing the player’s account in the interview.
“At no point has any NBA league official approached Enes and asked him not to wear his choice of shoes,” the spokesman wrote.
Freedom has also criticized Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and Nike for their close relations to China.
After team practice on Nov. 30, ESPN reported that Freedom offered to “educate” and “help” James regarding the communist nations’ practices.
“It’s about morals, principles and values,” Freedom said, according to ESPN.
China’s communist government ordered a media blackout of all Celtics games on Oct. 20 after Freedom wore game shoes critical of the regime and posted a video rant on Twitter.
Freedom has continued to wear different shoes with political images banned in China throughout the season.
Born in Switzerland to Turkish parents, the big man has a history of political activism, having appeared with congressional Democrats in 2019 to criticize the Turkish president’s visit to the Trump White House.
Since October he has drawn millions of views to his Twitter videos slamming Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “heartless dictator” for alleged human rights abuses — including forced labor — against Tibetan Buddhists and Muslim Uyghurs.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China‘s Foreign Ministry, said at a news briefing on Oct. 21 that the player’s remarks were “not worth refuting.”
With support for his activism from the Celtics organization, the big man shows no signs of relenting.
In a tweet on Sunday, Freedom hit former NBA player Jeremy Lin for deciding to play in the Chinese Basketball Association.
“Haven’t you had enough of that Dirty Chinese Communist Party money feeding you to stay silent?” Freedom tweeted.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.