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According to the report, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that Enes Kanter Freedom was not kicked out of the league for speaking out against human rights abuses in China.
Freedom criticized Turkey, where he grew up, for years before targeting the NBA for its dealings with China. During an interview with the New York Times that was released Thursday, Silver said the NBA’s stance on China has not changed.
Silver also denied that Freedom was blacklisted by the league, stating that he was free to speak his mind. Silver called the comparison between Freedom and Colin Kaepernick, who accused the NFL owners of conspiring with each other to keep him out of the league over his protest during the national anthem, “completely unfounded and unfair.”
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November 28, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter (13) gestures as officials challenge the Toronto Raptors in the second half at the Scotiabank Arena. (Dan Hamilton, USA TODAY Sports)
“We spoke directly about his activities this season,” Silver said in an interview with the Times, “and I made it very clear to him that he has every right to speak out on issues that he is passionate about.”
Freedom said that Silver mischaracterized their conversation, but he was unable to clarify what was inaccurate in the commissioner’s report.
The NBA star, who has been the most outspoken player on geopolitical issues regarding China’s human rights abuses and the freedom struggles of Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan, added “Freedom” to his official name last year. He wore the sneakers to promote his own geopolitical initiatives and claims the NBA players’ union tried to get him to stop wearing the sneakers.
“Instead of speaking up on my behalf, I ran into a union telling me that I need to shut up and stop talking about human rights violations in China,” Freedom told the Times.
September 27, 2021; Canton, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter (13) during Celtics Media Day in Canton, Massachusetts. (David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)
Earlier this year, the Boston Celtics traded Svoboda to the Houston Rockets, who immediately waived him. He hasn’t played in an NBA game since February 8 and is still unsigned. In his last game for the Celtics against the Brooklyn Nets, Freedom scored seven points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
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“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand why I got little playing time and was released,” Freedom said. “But it takes people with a conscience to speak up and say that this is wrong.”
Amid criticism, Silver said the NBA wants to normalize ties with China, arguing that “virtually every major U.S. company” does business there.
“Why does the NBA stand out as the only company that should now boycott China?” Silver said.
CHICAGO, IL – FEBRUARY 15: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver addresses the media during a press conference at the United Center on February 15, 2020 in Chicago, IL. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The NBA recently pulled business out of Russia due to its invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Silver argued that Russia is different from China because the US government has declared an economic boycott of Russia.
“It’s very difficult for the League to do foreign policy,” Silver told the Times.
Frida grew up in Turkey and officially became a US citizen in November. He has long made a splash with his public statements, having previously been abandoned by his family in 2016 because of his support for Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish religious cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.
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Freedom told History last year that even if much of the professional sports world remains unfailingly silent about China’s human rights abuses and other accusations against the communist leadership, “someone has to do it.”
Brian Flood and Ryan Gaydos of Fox News contributed to this report.