Enes Kanter doubles down on China criticism, calls out other athletes

Enes Kanter, the Boston Celtics center who tweeted “Free Tibet” last Wednesday, has continued to speak out against the Chinese Communist Party. On Friday, ahead of his team’s game against the Toronto Raptors, he posted a video on his social media channels in which he addressed the plight of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Heartless Dictator of China,
XI JINPING and the Communist Party of China.

I am calling you out in front of the whole world.
Close down the SLAVE labor camps and free the UYGHUR people!

Stop the GENOCIDE, now!#FreeUyghurs pic.twitter.com/eEoiw5Uz2K

— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) October 22, 2021

The Chinese government has been taking sweeping measures to crack down on the Uyghur people simply because they embrace their own religion, their own culture, language, history and identity.

The Uyghur region has become an open-air prison and surveillance state where freedoms are nonexistent for the Uyghur people. The Chinese government has sent Uyghurs along with Kazakhs, Tajiks, and other Muslim groups to concentration camps for simply applying for a passport, for texting someone overseas, or for believing in anything that does not align with the Chinese Communist Party’s agenda.

The Turkish star also admonished Muslim leaders and athletes around the world for not speaking out against the genocide, including Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Pakistani President Imran Khan.

“It’s shameful and sad how you have decided to prioritize money and business with China over human rights,” he says in the video. “You call yourself Muslims, but you are just using that for show. You simply do not care about people.”

Kanter also extended his criticism to include fellow Muslim sports stars: former boxing world champion Amir Khan, NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and global soccer superstar Mohamed Salah. “Why are you staying silent? Say something. Do something. Speak up. Your silence and your inaction is complicity.”

Kanter’s tweet last week on Tibet caused his team, the Boston Celtics, to be scrubbed from Chinese television and streaming platforms. There is no indication as to when the Celtics will return to screens. Two years ago, after Daryl Morey, then the Houston Rockets GM, tweeted about Hong Kong, the Rockets had to wait 15 months before their games could be broadcast live. Tencent, which partners with the NBA, does not stream games involving Morey’s current team, the Philadelphia 76ers.

On Wednesday, in the Celtics’ season-opener against the New York Knicks, Kanter wore shoes designed by dissident artist Badiucao with the words “Free Tibet.”

Proudly paint @EnesKanter ‘s shoes for supporting #FreeTibet
Enes is a real giant both for the basketball field & human rights filed！

Those self-imolation sacrifice from Tibetans shall never be forgotten！

我为 @NBA 球星 艾纳斯·坎特 绘制 #自由西藏 球鞋，今天将闪耀纽约球馆！ pic.twitter.com/Bu4ck0avIU

— 巴丢草 Bad ї ucao (@badiucao) October 21, 2021

In response to the Tibet video, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wāng Wénbīn 汪文斌 dismissed the NBA star of “clout chasing” and that his “wrong remarks are not worth refuting.” It remains to be seen if Kanter’s latest actions will elicit an official response.

Asked about Kanter on Friday, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens voiced support for his player. According to the Boston Globe:

“My conversation with Enes was real short and sweet,” Stevens said during his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub, “and that is we’re always going to support any of our players and their right to freedom of speech and expression. And I think in my experience with the Celtics and the NBA, that’s the way it’s been and that’s the way it’ll continue to be.”

Kanter is not new to activism. He has repeatedly spoken out against Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, tweeting in August:

Unbelievable!#DictatorErdogan regime issued 9 arrest warrants for me.
The reason behind it is me standing up for Human Rights, Freedom and Political Prisoners who are getting tortured.

Hey @RTErdogan
I don’t care if it’s 9 or 9000,
I’m NOT giving up.https://t.co/o1uOhFLLyW

— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) August 5, 2021

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Human rights protests hit torch lighting ceremony as criticism builds

A protest interrupted the Olympic torch lighting ceremony in Athens last Monday ahead of the Olympic flame’s journey to China. Human rights activists unfurled a banner that read “No Genocide Games” and waved a Tibetan flag, calling for a boycott, as IOC President Thomas Bach and Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou looked on.

The governing Olympic body of Greece, the Hellenic Olympic Committee Olympic (HOC), expressed disappointment.

“The lighting of the Olympic flame represents 3,000 years of Greek history and a commitment to peace and dialogue,” the HOC said. “While the HOC respects individual rights to freedom of expression, it is disappointing that this traditional cultural event has been used by a few individuals for other purposes.”

Following the arrest of a number of activists, Students for Free Tibet accused the Greek police of acting at the direction of Chinese officials.

PRESS RELEASE:

TIBET ACTIVISTS ARRESTED AFTER DISRUPTING OLYMPIC TORCH LIGHTING CEREMONY; OTHERS DETAINED OUTSIDE AT DIRECTION OF CHINESE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS pic.twitter.com/EhCk45kJ9U

— Students for a Free Tibet (@SFTHQ) October 18, 2021

The torch arrived in Beijing on Wednesday. It will eventually take a tour of northern China, through Inner Mongolia, Tianjin, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, “where winter sports are popular,” according to Xinhua.

The relay is set to end with China’s most successful Winter Olympian, Yáng Yáng 杨扬, lighting the cauldron in the Bird’s Nest Stadium, according to sources within the Chinese Olympic Committee.

In contrast, the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay lasted 129 days and went through 21 countries, and was carried by thousands of torch bearers on its “Journey of Harmony.”

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Other Stories:

Three-time U.S. Olympic skater Evan Bates decries “terrible” human rights issues in 2022 host China (NBC)

French Ligue 1 (optimistically) plan Chinese fixtures next year (Sports Business Journal)

China’s Zeng Fenbo bets on himself with Ignite as stepping-stone to NBA stardom (SF Chronicle)

Move over McGregor, China’s revving up on MMA (Radii)

Five confirmed cases in Beijing sees Beijing Marathon postponed (Global Times)

The China Sports Column runs every week on The China Project.