This season, Celtics center Enes Kanter has used social media to call Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” (which got all Celtics games taken off streaming service in China), called out LeBron James and Nike for doing business and their stances in China, worn shoes painted with slogans and phrases about the Uyghur population in China and accusing the Chinese government of genocide, and called Nets owner Joseph Tsai a “puppet” of the Chinese government.
Now he’s taking his push for human rights in China to a new level: Monday, when Kanter officially becomes a U.S. Citizen, he is changing his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is legally changing his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, @TheAthletic @Stadium learned. Kanter will be his middle name, Freedom is his new last name. He becomes a U.S. citizen on Monday.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 28, 2021
Kanter still comes in second on the unexpected name change list in the NBA, the former Metta World Peace still holds that crown.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, never one to hold his tongue on political matters, praised Kanter for speaking his mind.
Pop praised Enes Kanter for speaking up about human rights abuses around the world.
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) November 27, 2021
"I am glad that Enes speaks up when he feels like it. I think it’s great. No reason not to."
Pop on importance of speaking out:
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) November 27, 2021
"We live in a world now where people are just willing to make stuff up and lie, promote conspiracy theories, all these sorts of things – and a lot of people are buying it. So pointing things out, calling it out when you need to is, important."
