Enes Kanter Freedom on the NBA's Relationship With China: 'We Have To Expose This'

“While we’re dribbling the ball on the other side of the ocean, people are losing their loved ones, lives, and hope,” says the former Celtics center.

Noor Greene | 8.10.2022 12:25 PM

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When should professional athletes feel morally obligated to put their careers, their safety, and their freedom on the line to speak out about political injustice?

A chance encounter with a fan inspired NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom to use his fame to speak out about the issues that matter most.

Raised in Turkey, Enes Kanter Freedom moved to the U.S. when he was 17 to play basketball, attending high school and college in the country, and was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2011.

While posing for a photo with a fan, the fan's parents confronted Freedom. He recounted the incident to Reason:

"I took a picture with this kid. And while I was taking a picture, his parents called me out front of everybody."

The parents said to Freedom, "How can you call yourself a human rights activist when your Muslim brothers and sisters are getting tortured and raped every day in concentration camps in China?"

Since that incident, Freedom decided to speak out more about injustices worldwide. Freedom made headlines earlier this year for criticizing the NBA and its biggest stars for their business relationship with China, which has been accused of violating the civil rights of Turkic ethnic Muslims known as Uyghurs and forcing them into reeducation camps. In 2022, he was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Houston Rockets and then waived four days later.

Reason caught up with Freedom to talk about his early childhood, growing up in Turkey as a basketball prodigy, calls for his arrest, and what's driving his activism.

Produced by Noor Greene; camera by David Ehrenberg and Isaac Reese; production assistants: Adam Czarnecki and Regan Taylor; intro edited by Isaac Reese and Mike Koslap; interview edited by Adam Czarnecki

Music: Beyond by Anbr via Artlist

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BestUsedCarSales 3 years ago

I'm happy to see this. The Uighur genocide is a major issue of our day that gets too little coverage due to the uncomfortable fact that it may require us to take action.

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wingnutx 3 years ago

Those Nikes ain't gonna sew themselves.

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1. JenniferTaylor9 2 years ago (edited)
  
  I get paid over 190$ per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. I never thought I’d be able to do it but my best friend earns over 10k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. The potential with this is endless. Heres what I’ve been doing..
  
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Briggs Cunningham 3 years ago

Kantor stood up for what was right and was blackballed by the NBA for it. He lost his career for telling the truth. He is a real hero in an age where there are few people who are.

The contrast between Kantor and someone like Steve Kerr or Greg Popovich who shoots his mouths off about American politics knowing full well there is no price to be paid for doing so but then turn around and won't say anything about China because "its complicated" could not be greater. Yeah, the genocide of an entire population is really complicated and not something that can be easily condemned. That stands in contrast to really simple topics like police brutality and race relations in the United States.

I honestly wonder how people like Kerr and Popovich sleep at night. You can tell they know how hypocritical they re being. I guess they both just think they are so special it is okay for them to do it.

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1. ElvisIsReal 3 years ago
  
  Well said.
  
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2. Nardz 3 years ago
  
  Kyrie Irving didn't lose his job, but immediately became Sports Media's biggest villain and cause of all bad things for refusing to get the vax as a protest against NYC's vax mandate for workers. That meant he was legally prohibited from playing home games.
  Media loves to praise those "taking a stand" but only when the "stand" is popular and supported by all the right people, so there are no consequences for the "stand".
  Those stands that are against the popular, authoritarian narrative do come with consequences, and media piling on is one of them.
  
  Log in to Reply
Rossami 3 years ago

A "professional athlete" is never morally obligated to speak out about political injustice. Professional athletes are entertainers, not role models. They certainly have no special training or experience that makes them useful as moral compasses for others.

However once you choose to describe yourself as a "human rights activist", you have now boxed yourself into a corner and must either continue to speak out or admit to hypocrisy.

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1. Briggs Cunningham 3 years ago
  
  However once you choose to describe yourself as a "human rights activist", you have now boxed yourself into a corner and must either continue to speak out or admit to hypocrisy.
  
  Yes. You can't pick and choose what you are outraged about. That doesn't mean you have to talk about every issue in the world. But it does mean when you are asked about some injustice somewhere, you condemn it.
  
  One of the more annoying defenses of the NBA hypocrites was "it is not their responsibility to have an opinion on everything". No it isn't. They do however have a responsibility to speak out when asked and not pick and choose causes based on which ones can be supported without any effect on their paycheck.
  
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2. Overt 3 years ago
  
  I think this is different from a random political cause.
  
  The NBA is specifically doing business with China, *AND* partnering with them in papering over a great injustice. When your employer is doing something that you morally object to, you ought to step up and say something about it.
  
  And if your employer doesn't do what you want and you continue to work for them, it means that your moral feelings on the matter might not actually be that important.
  
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Dillinger 3 years ago

Nike: Just Slave It.

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1. Nardz 3 years ago
  
  Just Do It... slave
  
  Log in to Reply
creech 3 years ago

"When should professional athletes feel morally obligated to put their careers, their safety, and their freedom on the line to speak out about political injustice?"
Unless it is complaining about the U.S. of A., apparently only when you are suddenly facing a 9 year prison sentence in a totalitarian country you decided to visit.

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ElvisIsReal 3 years ago

Loved having this dude in Portland, and it's awesome to see "Freedom" on the back of somebody's jersey.

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Kelso 3 years ago

Shouldn't Kanter start by criticizing Israel's brutal occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine? Isn't Kanter a Jewish name? If he is earning money in the US, some of his earnings are taxed and so he is financing Zionist crimes against humanity.
As far as China's problems, Americans aren't financially supporting Uighur camps or re-education. Also, if there are one million Uyghurs being held for indoctrination , and there are 1.6 billion people in China, it is obviously a rounding error for the Chinese population. Palestinians represent the largest refugee population -- 14 million if one includes those oppressed in Gaza and the West Bank.
So for Mr. Kanter, perhaps he should stick to basketball and cut the virtual signaling.

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1. Briggs Cunningham 3 years ago
  
  Americans aren't financially supporting Uighur camps or re-education.
  
  yes they are. Every company that does business in China is putting money into the pockets of the CCP and helping to fund that.
  
  Perhaps you should just shut the fuck up and stop apologizing for the Chinese and thinking everything relates to your pathological hatred for the JEWS.
  
  Log in to Reply
2. Sevo 3 years ago
  
  "Shouldn't Kanter start by criticizing Israel's brutal occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine? Isn't Kanter a Jewish name? If he is earning money in the US, some of his earnings are taxed and so he is financing Zionist crimes against humanity..."
  
  Really sorry Hitler didn't get it done, anti-semitic shitbag?
  
  Log in to Reply
3. damikesc 3 years ago
  
  "Shouldn't Kanter start by criticizing Israel's brutal occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestine? Isn't Kanter a Jewish name?"
  
  His parents are Turkish...so, no, not Jewish. I know, they are the source of all evil for you, but still...
  
  Your FIRST two sentences were absolutely mind-numbingly dumb. Why read further?
  
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4. Ecoli 3 years ago
  
  If Palestinians stop firing missiles at Israeli population centers, and if Palestinians propose a peaceful solution to the problems in Israel, a "solution that does not include pushing Israelis into the sea to drown", then Palestinians can peacefully coexist with the Jews.
  
  Until then the Palestinians can continue to pretend that they ever had a homeland.
  
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voluntaryist 3 years ago

Kanter is doing what his conscience dictates, not what others would do, not focusing on what others would criticize him for not doing. He is doing his thing, not trying to serve everyone else's cause.
That pisses off some, as they make clear.
His mistake is not giving more interviews, avoiding the spotlight. He wants to draw attention to the injustices, the govt. murders, but he is shy. He will only have the power to get press, be heard for a short time. He should make the most of it. His impact will be extremely difficult to measure, but he wins, personally, every time he speaks.

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Enes Kanter Freedom on the NBA's Relationship With China: 'We Have To Expose This'

“While we’re dribbling the ball on the other side of the ocean, people are losing their loved ones, lives, and hope,” says the former Celtics center.

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