Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner, says Enes Kanter Freedom was never blackballed from the league for speaking out about human rights issues.
QUICK FACTS:
- Enes Kanter Freedom has made a name for himself in criticizing the NBA for its business relationship with China.
- The former Boston Celtics center said he has been shunned by the NBA for criticizing China’s repression of Uyghurs in recent months.
- However, in an interview with the New York Times, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that Freedom has not been suppressed from the league.
FREEDOM ON TAKING A STAND FOR HUMAN RIGHTS:
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize why I got little playing time and was released. But it does take people with a conscience to speak out and say it’s not right.”
BACKGROUND:
- The NBA player, originally from Turkey, expressed support for the coup attempt against Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2016, a stance that has resulted in being banned from his birth country, the National Review reported.
- In recent months, Freedom has taken up defending the rights of the people in China, advocating for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics amid allegations of genocide taking place against Uyghur Muslims in the country.
- As a result, the former Celtics player stated that “instead of advocating on my behalf, I have encountered the union telling me I need to shut up and stop talking about the human rights violations in China.”
