Not a good look for the King.
Enes Kanter is no stranger to political persecution and the dangers that can come with it. The Turkish national has effectively been banned from his country as there are warrants out for his arrest. This is because he has spoken out on numerous occasions against the country’s oppressive leader Tayyip Erdogan. With this in mind, it shouldn’t be surprising that he has a sensitivity to what is going on in China right now and how the Hong Kong people are fighting for democracy.
The NBA got itself into a bit a bind with China thanks to Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s recent tweet supporting the Hong Kong movement. Instead making a statement, the league has backed f and has done damage control to try and save their relationship with the Nation. LeBron James has also spoken out in favor the league’s response and even implied that Morey was uneducated on the topic and the ramifications such a tweet.
James is usually front and center when it comes to political statements so it’s been bizarre to see his side with China here. Fans are confused on his stance and so is Kanter. The Boston Celtics big man took to Twitter where he sent some subs at James and even shared some his own plights while fighting the Turkish government.
Needless to say, Kanter is disappointed in LeBron and so are many his fans.