We have seen many champions who end up on the front pages for the most varied reasons, but it’s not every day that a sports star is forced to flee a country to avoid falling victim to a hit man. Yet this is what happened a few days ago Enes Kanter Freedomformer player of the Boston Celtics who hastily left Italy after receiving a call from the FBI. However, the most extraordinary thing about his story is that to deserve such treatment he did nothing apart from denouncing the abuses and crimes of two of the most ferocious autocratic regimes on the planet, those of Turkey and China. This was more than enough to cause huge problems for him, his family and his career.
Despite more than enough results on the field, the Boston franchise did not renew his contract, more or less putting an end to his career just 30 years old. Enes, however, doesn’t take it too much: for him the only thing that counts is doing the right thing, even if you’re abandoned by everything and everyone. In the name of that freedom, the most beloved goddess, the one she wanted in her surname, put everything at stake, even her own life. Despite the threatscontinues to tell it like it is and denounce that system which, even in the gilded world of sport, severely punishes those who dare to express opinions that are not in line with the single thought.
“Erdogan is desperate, he wants to silence me”
Talking to Kanter is always a special experience, given how he manages to make events that seem to be taken from an Ian Fleming novel seem completely natural. When we ask him how he reacted when the FBI advised him to hurry back to America, he doesn’t flinch. “I was holding a basketball camp at the Vatican for the first time when I first heard about the size. The Turkish regime has been putting me on the wanted list for years but it has never done anything like this. Some friends of mine in America and the FBI itself told me that things could escalate. The next morning I was already on my way to New York. They told me that there might be Mafia hit men on my trail and that the only way to be sure would be to go back to America.”. When we ask him the reasons for this unprecedented decision, Enes seems sure it’s more a sign of weakness than strength: “The media, the politicians, the celebrities are on my side and this is frustrating for the regime. They are doing everything to silence me, anything. It doesn’t matter to me: I will continue to speak on behalf of the innocent who cannot speak. They put my father in prison for seven years, threatened my family, took away my citizenship, they don’t know what to invent anymore. As long as I stay here in America, they can’t touch me and it drives them crazy.”.
“Without freedom we are nothing”
Enes Kanter certainly did not imagine that his sporting career would lead him to become the public enemy number one of the government of his country. He just wanted to play the game he still loves, basketball which is a kind of civic religion in Turkey. However, when, in 2013, a scandal linked to the corruption of Erdogan’s party came to light, he began to take an interest in politics. “I started with a simple tweet, an interview but from that moment I followed carefully what was happening in my country. Every time I spoke, the government let me know that it didn’t suit them at all. They tried everything, they put my father in jail, they revoked my passport, I was wanted by Interpol, they took away my citizenship but it doesn’t matter. Since I arrived in America I have realized that freedom is the most important good of all, after water, food and air. We were born freewe must never forget that. That’s why I wanted to make this word part of me, carry it with me, on my shirt while I was playing, in every arena of the NBA, so as to inspire young people, make them understand how important it is. Everywhere I go, on the street or in the supermarket, people call me ‘Freedom’, which makes me happy. Without freedom we are nothing”.
“If you speak out against China, you’re finished”
When I ask the Turkish champion if he has been supported, even privately, by his teammates and the basketball world, his bitterness shines through. When he pitted against one of the most munificent partners in the richest league on the planet, he found himself alone against everything and everyone. “When you talk about the serious problems, the crimes of one of the most vicious dictatorships in the world like China, they will do anything to erase you. It has always been important to me to keep my back straight and tell it like it is. Unfortunately, however, what I called brothers, much more than just teammates have slipped out one by one. One day they were my brothers but when money and business were at stake, principles and morals no longer mattered. This hurts because I know they are amazing people. On the other hand they want a new contract, new sponsors, they are afraid of losing everything. Mine is a lonely road but sometimes it happens. Sometimes in life no one can follow you in your battles, neither your family nor friends, stay alone with your God. That’s okay too”.
An all too magnanimous attitude, which however gives way to a certain bitterness when it comes to how, according to many, open criticism of China, the persecution of the Uighurs and the questionable practices of certain multinationals played a large part in the Boston decision not to renew his contract. As he sees it, the message they wanted to send was simple: whoever stands against China is finished. “No one had ever said anything against the Chinese government, it was the first time in NBA history. In the league, you can talk about anything you want except what’s going on in China. That’s off limits. This explains why no one has decided to denounce Chinese crimes and the obvious human rights abuses that are taking place right now. I am sure that if another player decides to come forward and say anything against the Chinese government he will end up like me, he will be ostracized overnight.”.
“Sportsmen need to talk”
The thing that saddens seasoned American sports fans a lot is how, within a few years, the leagues have gone from the words of Michael Jordan “even Republicans buy tennis shoes” to the rampant activism of our times. Is it really impossible to go back to the 90s, when you could only talk about sport without necessarily throwing it into politics? Kanter is not optimistic. “I never talk about politics, only about human rights, there’s a huge difference. In such a polarized climate, as soon as you take sides, you risk losing half your audience. I’ve always wanted to talk only about rights violations, about the fate of so many political prisoners, so as to be unassailable. I believe athletes can do a lot to make the world a better place. Millions of young people follow us on social media, we should be more responsible, think about how to educate them, let them know how to think for themselves, distinguish right from wrong. It is a huge responsibility but we cannot avoid it. To create a better future we must educate the new generations. It would be nice to go back to just talking about sport but I fear it’s too late. Politics will remain an integral part of sport”.
But the thing that makes him lose patience is how many famous athletes seem ready to take sides only for the most fashionable causes, keeping the most controversial opinions to themselves. A dominant hypocrisy that doesn’t really go down well with the Turkish champion: “They are very ready to moralise everyone, to denounce this or that only for causes that do not put their wallets at risk. On the rest, they prefer to remain silent. People they like can’t wait to talk about topics they like, but as soon as you touch something that could possibly cause them to lose a sponsor, from human rights violations in China to child labor in certain factories Nikethey pretend nothing happened. They know very well that if they said things as they are they would be cancelled, they are afraid and it is a real shame”.
Even the media are not immune to blame but according to Kanter the blame lies with the system, which does not allow opposing voices when money is at stake. “Nobody goes against the narrative, look at how the journalists who follow the NBA behave. They are all afraid to ask players serious questions because they know that if they were talking about human rights, what is going on in Tibetad Hong Kong, of doubts about vaccines, would be kicked out of the press room. I find this hypocrisy truly intolerable, like those who try to make themselves look good with the usual fashionable causes. Let’s not delude ourselves: all the questions that come to people like LeBron James o Cristiano Ronaldo they have been scrutinized by the companies and rendered harmless. This is all a farce and I will do everything I can to expose this charade.”.
A future in the Euroleague? Difficult
At the age of thirty, it is difficult to accept a future without basketball for someone like Kanter, who has dedicated his life to this sport and who would be able to make a difference on the parquet. Although hope is the last to die, Enes is not very optimistic about it. “I’m 30, I can play at a high level for another five or six seasons but I’m not allowed. But I’m not giving up, which is why I haven’t announced my retirement from the sport yet. I love basketball, I think it’s a great way to bring people of all races and creeds together. Unfortunately I don’t think I have a future in the NBA, given the great pressure they receive every day from the Chinese government. Many ask me if I could have space in a Euroleague team but I don’t know if it’s really possible. There are at least two reasons that make a return to Europe very difficult. Not only the Euroleague is sponsored from the Turkish Airlines but it would also be a big problem from the point of view of my personal safety. Traveling so often to so many countries it would be too easy for the regime’s goons to hurt me. I love basketball, it remains my life, but I don’t know if I’ll go back to playing”.
Kanter will certainly keep busy, working on his training and holding basketball camps wherever he is allowed. “I like working with the boys, they are our future and all the threats in the world or bounties won’t be able to stop me. In a month I hope to be able to go abroad again and make many children around the world smile. I remember a camp we organized in Jerusalem, one of the best I’ve ever held: there were Christians, Muslims, Jews, Palestinians and everyone playing together and having fun.”. A different future than he expected, perhaps, but not enough to make Kanter lose his optimism and good humor.
The message he wants to send to his fans in Italy is simple: “NIt doesn’t matter where you come from, your skin colour, your religion or your culture, the differences between us are irrelevant. We have only one world available, we must find what unites us rather than what divides us. By working together we will be able to make this a fairer and better world for all”. Words that perhaps you would expect more from a philosopher than a basketball player. On the other hand, however, no one has ever accused Enes Kanter Freedom of being just another guy.
For better or for worse, it’s hard not to hope that more and more athletes are escaping the orthodoxy of single thought and tell it like it is. Maybe it won’t always be necessary to end up in the crosshairs of the worst regimes in the world but a little more honesty could be good not only for the world of sport but for our society in general.
