Earlier this week, Enes Kanter became a U.S. citizen and officially changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom.
It was another bold step for a man who has literally risked his life for speaking out against injustice and human rights violations.
But his fight for freedom and waving of the American flag has caught the attention of right-wing politicians and media outlets, and now he’s primed for weaponization by individuals and institutions who strive for conservatism, inequality, imbalance and a return to “old fashion values”.
It’s a troubling sight and transformation of a fearless athlete in two short years.
I applauded Enes Kanter and cheered his heroic quest to expose foreign dictatorships like Turkey.
I gave him respect for pushing through and hosting a youth basketball league in New York in 2019 despite it initially being canceled from being held at the Islamic Center of Long Island by, alleged Enes at the time, Turkish intimidation tactics.
And I’m on board with him calling out China for their horrific treatment of Uyghur Muslims and the people of Tibet.
But now as Enes Kanter Freedom, he’s veered down a different path.
He attacked Michael Jordan out of the blue, stating that his Airness doesn’t do enough for Black people without understanding just how much Jordan does without celebration.
“Michael Jordan hasn’t done anything, nothing, for the black community in America besides just giving them money,” said Enes on CNN.
Freedom should understand that not everyone takes to the podium to take action. Jordan is one of those people so calling him out isn’t fair.
Ironically, he also gave LeBron props for “going out there and being the voice of the people.”
But then he went after LeBron James for his association with Nike.
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