NBA rebel from Zurich provokes Xi Jinping with sneakers
Enes Kanter of the Boston Celtics criticizes China’s Tibet policy. That has consequences – for him and his club.
Enes Kanter also hands out mightily off the field.
Foto: Mary Schwalm (Keystone)
He is powerful, Enes Kanter. But not in terms of politics, but because of its mass: 2.08 meters tall and 113 kg heavy. At the moment, the Boston Celtics basketball player can hardly use them for his employer. Kanter only played five minutes in the previous three games of the season.
The little working time could have something to do with his political messages. Before the start of the season last Wednesday against the New York Knicks, Kanter wore shoes marked “Free Tibet”. He also posted a tweet against the Chinese government. He called President Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator” and expressed his support for the Free Tibet movement in a video. The Chinese short message service Weibo blocked his account. And the live broadcast of the Celtic game on TV has stopped.
The basketball player is not impressed. Kanter even followed up on Twitter with two sneaker messages. “What happens to the Uyghurs is one of the worst human rights violationson of the world.” And: “Someone has to Xi Jinping and the KTeaching the Communist Party of China a lesson. “
Family repudiates him because of Erdogan’s criticism
Kanter was born in Zurich in 1992. His Turkish father was doing his doctorate at the university at the time. In his homeland he has had everyone for a long time official Credit gambled away. After the failed coup attempt in 2016, Kanter confessed to the Gülen movement and called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “damned madman”. Erdogan blamed the followers of the Islamic preacher for the coup attempt. In 2017, Kanter’s Turkish citizenship was revoked. His parents apologized to the president for die Statements hers sons and let him fallen.
So fearless sI Edges also gives, he is not always quite comfortable in his role. 2019, at that time still involved with the New York Knicks, renounced is on the trip to London for the game against the Washington Wizards. Kanter hat Angstthat he could be arrested or even killed in the English metropolis for his statements.
Herbie Egli has been a sports editor with a focus on online since 2019. In addition to general reporting, his focus is on alpine skiing and cycling.
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