Enes Kanter calls out Michael Jordan for placating black community with money but offering no real help



Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter has blasted NBA superstar Michael Jordan for not doing more for the black community.

Kanter has previously been outspoken about humans rights violations and the role he says that Nike plays in human rights atrocities.

What are the details?

A Sunday report from Mediaite states that Turkish-born Kanter made the remarks during a CNN segment on Sunday night in which he accused Jordan of doing "nothing for the black community in America" save for "giving them money."

Kanter told CNN's Pamela Brown that the famed basketball player "has not done anything for the black community because he cares too much about his shoe sales."

"Not many people are talking about Michael Jordan," Kanter complained. "Michael Jordan hasn't done anything, nothing, for the black community in America besides just, you know, giving them money. I feel like we need to call out these athletes. At least LeBron James is going out there and being the voice of all those people who are oppressed in America."

Enes Kanter just called out Michael Jordan on CNN: \u201cMichael Jordan has not done anything for the black community because he cares too much about his shoe sales.\u201d @EnesKanter @Jumpman23 @Nike @KingJames @celticspic.twitter.com/6P06F1NYD0
— New York Basketball (@New York Basketball) 1637537917

What else?

Later during the interview, Kanter added that those purchasing Nike products should consider "every time you put your shoes on, you put that T-shirt on your back, there is so much blood and sweat and oppression on those items, so please, think twice before you buy any of their stuff."

In October, he took aim at Nike CEO Phil Knight for not speaking up against China's atrocities.

"Dear Nike, your company says that you're making a positive impact in our communities," Kanter began in a video-message shared to his social media channels at the time. "And that is true. Yes, you are. Here, in the United States, Nike stands with Black Lives Matter, Nike stands with Stop Asian Hate, Nike stands with the Latino community, and Nike stands with the LGBTQ community. And Nike remains vocal about injustice here in America."

"But when it comes to China, Nike remains silent," he added. "You do not address police brutality in China, you do not speak about discrimination against the LGBTQ community, you do not say a word about the oppression of minorities in China. You are scared to speak up."

Kanter insisted that Nike is utilizing forced Uyghur labor.

"Who makes your shoes in China? Do you even know? There are so many forced labor factories in China," Kanter continued.

Nike has previously insisted that it "does not source products from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region."

LeBron James left triggered after confronted with question about opposing player's anti-China, anti-LeBron shoes



NBA superstar LeBron James suggested Friday that Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is not a man because Kanter has not directly confronted him over criticisms involving Nike and China.

During a game between the Los Angeles Laters and Celtics on Friday — in which the Celtics beat the Lakers 130-108 — Kanter wore shows that depicted James bowing to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who places a crown on James' head.

Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter wore sneakers tonight \u2014 while playing against the Lakers \u2014 with LeBron James bowing down while China\u2019s dictator puts a crown on his head.pic.twitter.com/E1L4ZyPWrF
— Clay Travis (@Clay Travis) 1637378287

What is the background?

Kanter, in addition to being a highly successful basketball player, has made a name for himself by publicly criticizing brutal regimes, like Turkey, the country of origin for his family.

In recent months, however, Kanter has stepped up his criticism to include China. Kanter has called Jinping a "brutal dictator," and he has declared support the "Free Tibet" movement. Kanter's criticism of China has included taking aim at James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and has a highly lucrative endorsement deal with Nike.

"[W]hen it comes to China, Nike remains silent," Kanter said last month. "You do not address police brutality in China, you do not speak about discrimination against the LGBTQ community, you do not say a word about the oppression of minorities in China. You are scared to speak up."

Kanter added:

Nike likes to say "Just Do It." Well, what are you doing about the slave labor that makes your shoes? That slave labor that makes you rich.To the owner of Nike — Phil Knight — I have a message for you. How about I book plane tickets for us, let's fly to China together. We can try to visit these slave labor camps and you can see with your own eyes. LeBron James and Michael Jordan, you guys are welcome to come too. Nike must be a participant in this. Stop the hypocrisy. Stop the modern-day slavery now.

On Thursday, Kanter posted photos of his shoes online with the following message: "Money over Morals for the 'King'[.] Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice[.] They really do 'shut up & dribble' when Big Boss[.] Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research?"

How did James respond?

James was asked about Kanter's criticism after the Lakers lost to the Celtics. James, clearly triggered by the question, suggested that Kanter is not a man because he did not confront James to his face.

"I think if you know me you know I don't really give too many people my energy and he's definitely not someone I will give my energy to," he said. "Trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself. Definitely won't comment too much on that, if any. That will be where I lay that at."

"He's always kind of had a word or two to say in my direction, and as a man, if you got an issue with somebody, you really come up to him," James continued. "He had his opportunity tonight. I seen him in the hallway, he walked right by me.

LeBron is totally in China\u2019s pocket. Gets asked about human rights in China and attacks @EnesKanter for raising the issue.pic.twitter.com/3bchAnturD
— Clay Travis (@Clay Travis) 1637424759

LeBron James makes fun of Kyle Rittenhouse crying on witness stand — and outspoken NBA superstar gets shredded for it on Twitter



Socially conscious NBA superstar LeBron James weighed in on the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial Wednesday by mocking the 18-year-old defendant for becoming emotional and beginning to cry on the witness stand.

James — reacting to a USA Today headline saying Rittenhouse "broke down in tears" — told his 50 million Twitter followers that he wasn't buying it, among other things.

"What tears?????" James asked in his now viral tweet. "I didn't see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court." He finished off his message with a trio of laughing-crying emojis.

What tears????? I didn\u2019t see one. Man knock it off! That boy ate some lemon heads before walking into court. https://twitter.com/usatoday/status/1458521089152274442\u00a0\u2026

— LeBron James (@KingJames) 1636596954

As of Thursday morning, James' tweet garnered nearly 170,000 likes, nearly 29,000 retweets, and over 23,000 comments.

Oops

Of course, not all of the comments were favorable. In fact, James — who's unwisely opined on a number of issues beyond the basketball court — got his head handed to him by a several prominent Twitter users:

Lebron, great defender of the Chinese government's tyranny, also happens to be an unparalleled dumpster fire in the field of criminal justicepic.twitter.com/Hs9JeXnBt9

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) 1636635152

You're a genuinely terrible and unintelligent person.https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1458619464329670657\u00a0\u2026

— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) 1636601447

Did your ChiCom masters tell you to tweet this?

— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) 1636631091

To know you is to dislike you. How could an individual be wrong on every conceivable issue? What an execrable schmuck you are, respectfully of course.

— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) 1636605781

LeBron James appears to be mocking people dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in this post. Why? Is this a joke to you? Not a good look!

— Aaron J. Carpenter\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@aaronjcarpenter) 1636605250

You would know all about faking.

— Sara Gonzales (@SaraGonzalesTX) 1636602595

glad you could take a break from promoting slavery in China that benefits you to mock a kid who defended himself legally.

— Jessica O\u2019Donnell (@heckyessica) 1636603857

The coward who\u2019s fought for nothing has comments about a young man who stepped into the breech to defended his community because our institutions failed. \n\nLeBron\u2019s existence as a celebrity is a reflection of our decline.https://twitter.com/kingjames/status/1458619464329670657\u00a0\u2026

— Joe Kent for WA-3 (@joekent16jan19) 1636599488

Sit this one out champ.pic.twitter.com/e8tfbJJhhR

— Barrington Martin II (@_BarringtonII) 1636600062

No one knows how to fake something better than youpic.twitter.com/XHLzaTX00d

— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) 1636635858

You get rich selling shoes made by SLAVES.https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1458619464329670657\u00a0\u2026

— Larry O'Connor (@LarryOConnor) 1636599830

If he\u2019s faking it, we better call Juwan Howard.pic.twitter.com/j5ZuKTwYSo

— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) 1636600458

And conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller called James a "f***ing coward" while mocking him back, asking if he plans on offering "any support for your fellow NBA player @EnesKanter speaking out against the mass extermination of ethnic Muslims in China?"

But notable blue checkmarks agreed with James

As you might guess, a number of Twitterverse luminaries saw things the way James did.

"Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and injured Gaige Grosskreutz, now 27," CNN commentator Ana Navarro-Cárdenas tweeted. "Think about how much their loved ones have cried, real anguish and grief, not crocodile tears."

"F*** this brat's crocodile tears," Amanda Marcotte, a politics writer for Salon, tweeted. "Self-defense is when you are minding your own business, someone attacks you, and you have to fight back. Rittenhouse picked up a gun and went looking for trouble. He found it and, in a sane world, would go to jail for it."

And Carli Pierson — an attorney and USA Today opinion writer — also invoked the "crocodile tears" charge while writing that Rittenhouse came across as "melodramatic" and shouldn't be believed.

"Regardless of how Rittenhouse tries to twist his story — or twist his sad face into tears — his innocent kid act shouldn't fool anyone," Pierson said, adding that he "could get life in prison if convicted, and that's what he deserves."

Oh, and how can we leave out this one?

C R I S I S\nA C T O Rpic.twitter.com/F0Hnce60S8

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) 1636589734

'Stop the genocide now': NBA player Enes Kanter responds to Chinese censorship by doubling down, decrying Uighur genocide



Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is decrying China's human rights abuses against the Uighurs, publicly calling for Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party to shut down the slave labor camps and free the people.

"Stop the genocide now," Kanter declared in the video message shared Friday.

The NBA player referred to Jinping as the "heartless dictator of China."

Kanter's strong condemnation regarding China's brutal oppression of the Uighurs came after he released another video earlier this week describing Jinping as a "brutal dictator," while denouncing China over the issue of Tibet.

"Brutal dictator of China, Xi Jinping, I have a message for you and your henchmen. I will say it again, again, and again, loud and clear; I hope you hear me. Free Tibet, free Tibet, free Tibet," Kanter said in a video released on Wednesday.

While the athlete did not play in his team's game on Wednesday night, he sported footwear that included the phrase "Free Tibet," according to the Associated Press.

China appears to have retaliated for Kanter's outspoken condemnation, as Tencent has reportedly targeted Celtics games so that prior games and upcoming games will not be available for viewing.

The AP reported that "Tencent is not showing current or archived Boston Celtics games on its platforms," while the New York Times reported that "recent Celtics games were marked as unavailable for replay through Tencent" and "The website for Tencent Sports also indicated that upcoming Celtics games would not be livestreamed."

But Kanter, apparently undaunted, shared the video on Friday blasting China's oppression of the Uighurs, which he characterized as among "the worst human right abuses in the world today."

Heartless Dictator of China,XI JINPING and the Communist Party of China.I am calling you out in front of the who… https://t.co/Ms89u7NRd7

— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) 1634918907.0

China yanks Boston Celtics games from TV after Enes Kanter slams Xi Jinping as 'brutal dictator'



Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter delivered pro-Tibet remarks on Wednesday and also blasted Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "brutal dictator." On Thursday, China wiped future games from the schedule as well as yanked past replays.

Kanter – the veteran NBA player and outspoken progressive activist – shared a two-minute video on social media of him voicing his support for Tibetan independence.

"My message to the Chinese government is 'Free Tibet.' Tibet belongs to Tibetans. I am here to add my voice and speak out about what is happening in Tibet," the Turkish basketball star said in the video. "Under the Chinese government's brutal rule, Tibetan people's basic rights and freedoms are nonexistent."

"They are not allowed to study and learn their language and culture freely," Kanter continued. "They are not allowed to travel freely, they are not allowed to access information freely, Tibetan people are not even allowed to worship freely."

"For more than 70 years, Tibetan monks, nuns, intellectuals, writers, poets, community leaders, actors, and many more have been detained, sent to political re-education classes, subject to torture ... and even been executed simply for exercising their freedoms that you and I take for granted," the Celtics center exclaimed.

He added that Chinese citizens can be arrested for having a photo of the Dalai Lama or for flying the Tibetan flag.

"I say, shame on the Chinese government," Kanter declared. "The Chinese dictatorship is erasing Tibetan identity and culture."

"After learning all of this, I cannot stay silent. I stand with my Tibetan brothers and sisters, and I support their cause for freedom," the NBA player proclaimed.

"The communist ideology of China has been around for only around 100 years, but Buddhist civilization, ideology, and philosophy have been around for thousands of years," Kanter stated. "Only the Tibetan people should decide the future of Tibet; ... Tibet belongs to Tibetan people."

"Brutal dictator of China, Xi Jinping, I have a message for you and your henchmen. I will say it again, again, and again, loud and clear; I hope you hear me. Free Tibet, free Tibet, free Tibet," Kanter concluded.

Kanter has also been an outspoken critic of Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan and this week received his 10th arrest warrant for speaking out against the Turkish government's human rights record. Turkey also revoked Kanter's passport. Turkish prosecutors have been seeking the arrest and extradition of Kanter since 2019 for an alleged connection to a terrorist group.

Dear Brutal Dictator XI JINPING and the Chinese GovernmentTibet belongs to the Tibetan people!#FreeTibet https://t.co/To4qWMXK56

— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) 1634749143.0

Kanter doubles down

Kanter continued his "Free Tibet" campaign during the Celtics' game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Kanter wore custom sneakers with the words "FREE TIBET," an illustration of a self-immolating Tibetan, and a snow lion from the Tibetan flag. The shoes were designed by Chinese dissident artist Badiucao.

More than 150 Tibetan people have burned themselves alive!! — hoping that such an act would raise more awareness ab… https://t.co/Kls7uhUwqp

— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) 1634771673.0

What a shame @EnesKanter was not given any time in the game tonight.But his message is clear and loud ！… https://t.co/jbOK1fKkLf

— 巴丢草 Badiucao💉💉 (@badiucao) 1634785363.0

China reacts by pulling Celtics games

According to the New York Times, "By Thursday, recent Celtics games were marked as unavailable for replay through Tencent, the Chinese internet giant that has partnered with the N.B.A. to stream its games in the country. The website for Tencent Sports also indicated that upcoming Celtics games would not be live-streamed."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Kanter was "trying to get attention" and that his remarks "were not worth refuting."

"We will never accept those attacks to discredit Tibet's development and progress," the spokesperson said on Thursday.

A Celtics fan page with over 600,000 followers on the Chinese social media platform Weibo said it would immediately stop covering the team.

The Celtics fan page wrote, "Resolutely resist any behavior that damages national harmony and the dignity of the motherland!"

China has been censoring another NBA team

Tencent Sports has not been livestreaming Philadelphia 76ers games after the NBA franchise hired Daryl Morey to be its president of basketball operations.

Morey is famously known for writing a tweet in support of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong in October 2019, when he was the general manager of the Houston Rockets. Morey was forced to apologize for the "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong" message. Despite the apology, China stopped broadcasting NBA games for the pro-democracy tweet.

China refused to air any NBA games from state-run CCTV for more than a year after Morey's tweet, which cost the NBA $200 million, CNBC reported.

What has the NBA said about China's censorship?

Representatives for the National Basketball Association and the Boston Celtics did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the New York Times. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has yet to respond to China's latest censorship of the NBA.

Previously, Silver was asked on Monday about NBA games not being broadcast in China.

"It's unclear whether we'll be back on CCTV this year," Silver said. "Our projections are not dependent on it."

In April, Silver was asked about the NBA's relationship with China.

"Our most significant television partner is Tencent, which is a streaming service in China," the NBA commission told Time. "And we have hundreds of millions of fans in China who we continue to serve."

Silver claimed, "That a so-called boycott of China, taking into account legitimate criticisms of the Chinese system, won't further the agenda of those who seek to bring about global change."

In 2018, Tencent Holdings Ltd. paid $1.5 billion for five years of exclusive streaming rights to NBA games in China.