NBA free agent center Enes Kanter Freedom is calling on fellow players in the association to stand with him in his fight against China.
Kanter Freedom, 30, has been outspoken against China for its ongoing genocide against Muslim Uyghurs. He’s repeatedly blasted the NBA and players such as LeBron James for continuing to do business with the country.
He made an appearance Friday night on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle and called out the NBA owners for “making profit off of slave labor.”
“Human rights violations happen all around the world. We have to call them out like it is,” Kanter Freedom said. “And… for the NBA, moral[ity] matter[s] until money or business are involved. So that is the one thing that was breaking my heart. And all these owners — there are 50 NBA owners — are making profit off of slave labor.”
He continued, saying the owners are scared to speak out on injustices taking place outside of America.
“So we have to call them out because they love to sit down and give us all the social justice talk to us,” Kanter Freedom said. “But in reality, they’re scared. They’re only talking about the things that are happening in America. But when… the things that they talk about [affect] their money or pocket, they’re going to stay silent and we have to keep exposing them.”
Kanter Freedom has been out of the league since being waived by the Rockets on Feb. 14. He has since insinuated that the reason he’s out of the league is due to his outspokenness against China. NBA commissioner Adam Silver refuted that claim back in March.
“We spoke directly about his activities this season,” Silver said. “And I made it absolutely clear to him that it was completely within his right to speak out on issues that he was passionate about.”
His 11th season in the NBA saw him average a career-low 11.7 minutes on the floor. He averaged 3.7 PPG and 4.6 RPG as Boston’s backup center. In the 2020-21 season with the Trail Blazers, Kanter Freedom averaged 24.4 minutes a night with 11.2 PPG and 11.0 RPG.
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