Enes Kanter Freedom: ‘The NBA is a 100 percent American-made organization that the Chinese dictatorship runs’

Burack: You are not on an NBA team right now. Is that because you speak out about human rights violations in China and Turkey? Enes Kanter Freedom: Let me give you a very easy stat, it is not rocket science: last year, I played for the Portland Trail Blazers and averaged a double-double. We made the playoffs. And they are telling me that six months later, I forgot how to play basketball? Even the kids on the streets will laugh at that notion. I believe I could start in many cases right now, but because the things I say are hurting the NBA financially, they wanted me out of the league. It’s that simple. I just turned 30, and they are pushing me to retire. I can play another six or seven years easily. But unfortunately, with a league like this and with the players in it like this, it looks like it’s not possible. -via OutKick / June 17, 2022

Burack: If you had known that speaking out would have cost you your NBA career, would you have still done it? Enes Kanter Freedom: I would do this every time. No question. Why? While they are playing basketball right now, there is a genocide happening on the other side of the ocean. There are three to four million people in concentration camps who are tortured every day. And Uyghurs are not the only ones — you see what’s happening in places like Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan and Mongolians. So this is bigger than my next paycheck. Of course I would do it all over again. -via OutKick / June 17, 2022

While the Celtics and Warriors battle on the court in a tightly contested NBA Finals, the governors of California and Massachusetts have joined in on the action. In a tweet Wednesday, about a half hour before the tipoff of game three, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker promised California Gov. Gavin Newsom that the Celtics would claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy this year. -via Boston Globe / June 9, 2022