Enes Kanter, fresh off of ripping China for its oppression of Tibet, has now attacked the regime for its treatment of the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. In a new video, Kanter, wearing a “Freedom for Uyghur” T-shirt, says:
Right now as I speak this message, torture, rape, forced abortions, sterilizations, family separations, arbitrary detentions, concentration camps, political reeducation, forced labor. . .this is all happening right now to more than 1.8 million Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region in northwestern China.
The Chinese government has been taking sweeping measures to crack down on the Uyghur people simply because they embrace their own religion, their own culture, language, history and identity. The Uyghur region has become an open-air prison and surveillance state where freedoms are non-existent for the Uyghur people.
The Chinese government has sent Uyghurs along with Kazaks, Tajiks and other Muslims groups to concentration camps for simply applying for a passport, for texting someone overseas or for believing in anything that does not align with the Chinese Communist Party’s agenda.
Kanter went on to castigate leaders of certain predominantly Muslim countries for not standing up for the Uyghur population. He named Pakistani prime minister Imram Khan, Saudi Arabia’s King Mohammed bin Salman, Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi.
Kanter also attacked Muslim sports stars for the same reason. In my favorite part of the video, he calls out former NBA great and current pundit wannabe Kareem Abdul Jabbar. “Why are you staying silent?” the Celtics center asks. “Say something. Do something. Speak up. Your silence and your inaction is complicity.”
Don’t hold your breath waiting for phonies like Jabbar to speak up against China’s human rights abuses. I suspect he cares more about his brand than he does about his fellow Muslims.
On a positive note, Brad Stevens, former coach of the Celtics and current president of the team’s basketball operations, has expressed support for Kanter. Following the release of the “free Tibet” video, Stevens had a short meeting with Kanter. According to Stevens, he told the player “we’re always going to support any of our players and their right to freedom of speech and expression.”
Boston coach Ime Udoka also affirmed Kanter’s right to freedom of speech, albeit somewhat tepidly. He said “[Kanter] is very passionate about a lot of things, and he has the freedom to say what he wants.” “That’s above my department,” he added.
Clearly, China won’t be streaming Celtics games any longer. Heck, it’s not even streaming Philadelphia 76ers games because Daryl Morley is now that team’s general manager. Morley voiced support for freedom for Hong Kong when he was running the Houston Rockets. He issued a sort of apology, but China wasn’t appeased.
What about Kanter’s playing time? He hasn’t had any in two of Boston’s first three games. In the other one, he played just five minutes.
With Al Horford back in the lineup, Kanter’s time will probably be limited going forward. However, he’s good enough to play some. I assume, given Brad Stevens’ comment, that he will, but we’ll see.
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