Enes Kanter has never been one who has avoided expressing his views on social issues and will continue to use his platform once the NBA resumes on July 30th.
The Boston Celtics center has been critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and has also participated in Black Lives Matter protests. Now with the change of NBA rules that allows players to exchange their surname on the back of the shirt for a word or phrase on social justice, Kanter knows exactly which word he will use.
“I think the whole NBA and the whole world now know what I’m representing,” Kanter told CNN, as transcribed by WEEI’s Rob Bradford.
“If you look at what’s going on in the world right now many people out there need their freedom and are fighting for it. That word means a lot to me. That’s why I think I will put “freedom” behind my shirt. My message to the whole world and to all the people out there: keep fighting for freedom. Continue to fight for justice. Support what you believe in and never give up. Don’t let any dictatorship put you in silence because your human rights, freedom and justice are the most important thing in life. ”
Not surprisingly, Kanter chose “freedom”, considering that he wore a shirt during the Celtics game in Toronto against the Raptors, his first outside the United States since 2018, with a “Freedom For All” shirt, and he also wrote “Freedom” on his sneakers before the Boston game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in October.
Miniature photo via Ed Szczepanski / USA TODAY Sports Images
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