Freedom declined to be interviewed by phone or in person, but agreed to answer questions over text message. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize why I got little playing time and was released,” he said. “But it does take people with a conscience to speak out and say it’s not right.”
Tag: Politics
Jeffrey Ngo, a Hong Kong pro-democracy …
Jeffrey Ngo, a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist in Washington, said Freedom’s criticism of China “must have at least played a role” in his not playing. “All of a sudden there’s all this attention and people telling him to stop talking about it or there would be consequences,” Ngo said. “And then those consequences came.”
Adam Silver says NBA has not blackballed Enes Kanter Freedom
Adam Silver, the commissioner of the N.B.A., said in an interview that the league’s position on China had not changed. He also denied that the league had blackballed Freedom, saying that comparisons to Kaepernick were “completely unfounded and unfair.” “We spoke directly about his activities this season,” Silver said, “and I made it absolutely clear to him that it was completely within his right to speak out on issues that he was passionate about.”
Freedom said Silver characterized their …
He also said the N.B.A. players’ union …
He also said the N.B.A. players’ union separately tried to get him to stop wearing the shoes. “Instead of advocating on my behalf, I have encountered the union telling me I need to shut up and stop talking about the human rights violations in China,” Freedom said to The New York Times. Freedom’s story is difficult to corroborate because he would not disclose the names of his antagonists. The union would not comment on the specifics, but said in a statement that it supported Freedom and other players’ speaking out on important issues.
Kevin Durant clarifies comments directed to NYC Mayor Eric Adams
Ben Anderson: The @Utah Jazz Foundation …
Ben Anderson: The @Utah Jazz Foundation and @Airbnb are partnering to provide more than 32,000 nights of housing for refugees fleeing Ukraine and surrounding countries. 
#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/GG45bDOSEI
#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/GG45bDOSEIThe @utahjazz Foundation and @Airbnb are partnering to provide more than 32,000 nights of housing for refugees fleeing Ukraine and surrounding countries.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) March 9, 2022
Brad Stevens denies asking Enes Freedom not to wear human rights footwear
On Sunday, Enes Freedom went further, claiming on Twitter that the Celtics, too, asked him not to don his human rights footwear. Not so, says Brad Stevens, who told the Herald on Tuesday that the Celtics’ only initial question involved whether the sneakers violated the NBA’s uniform policy, which it quickly determined they did not. But the Celtics president stressed that he has never stepped in the way of a player expressing his political beliefs.
“Here’s exactly what happened,” said …
“Here’s exactly what happened,” said Stevens. “I was actually at home, and when he decided to wear the sneakers, there was some concern – and I didn’t even know until the end of the first quarter – that there was a potential uniform or dress code violation. I don’t know what was said – I can’t imagine that phrasing was said – but the question to me was what to do about Enes’ shoes. I said I think that he’s fine, and let me double check with the NBA to see if there’s any uniform violation. Double-checked, fine, and he wore those the rest of the game and he wore whatever he wanted the rest of the year. It’s interesting, because I feel really good that we truly sat here and supported him and his right to express himself and his freedom of speech, and I even told him the next day that you know I’ve always done that.”
Brad Stevens: “I talked to him the next …
Brad Stevens: “I talked to him the next day, and I said you know I’ve always supported your right to express yourself, to speak on whatever you speak on. Just let me know in advance, so I’m not checking on these things in the middle of the first quarter from my couch at home. We didn’t talk about anything after that, because we weren’t checking from that point forward. Wear whatever you want.”