Enes Kanter Freedom has called LeBron James to account for his remarks on the most recent episode on his HBO series “The Shop,” when talking about the Brittney Griner-Russia situation. As reported on Tuesday, LeBron James criticized the United States when giving remarks regarding Griner.
LeBron said:
“Now, how can she feel like America has her back? I would be feeling like, ‘Do I even want to go back to America?’”
After these comments, he attempted to clarify his remarks by saying that his remarks were not meant to criticize “our beautiful country.”
Kanter hit back at James following his “clarification” of the comments.
“You call it a step back, we call this a walk back.”
Kanter didn't hold back with his reply. He told LeBron that he's at liberty to leave America any time he wishes.
“You are free to leave buddy or you can even volunteer for an exchange for her.”
Kanter proposed the possibility that he could trade LeBron to Russia in exchange for Griner as LeBron seems to not recognize the benefits of living in America and the opportunities it provided him to become a billionaire.
“Some people literally have NO idea what is it like to live in a dictatorship … Keep taking your freedom for granted.”
This is a personal issue for Kanter since he's been in a dispute with the brutal Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoan. In 2018, his dad was sentenced for 15 years of jail by Erdogan's Turkish government. Kanter stated that it was the government's method of shaming Kanter for criticizing Turkey's government.
“No matter what happens, I will continue to keep fighting for human rights and freedom of speech, justice and democracy above all … I will stand for what I believe in. All I’m doing is trying to be the voice of all those innocent people.”
Kanter also brought awareness to the Armenian Genocide. It was in 1915 that 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Turks, and to this day, Turkey's government denies the fact that it happened. Kanter, who is Turkish, issued a statement on Twitter that claimed he received death threats in 2021 because he said the Armenian Genocide did, in fact, take place in 1915 and Turkey is guilty of committing it.
Kanter was vocal in his comments on the Hong Kong, China situation. While the NBA, and particularly LeBron, was silent about the matter, Kanter spoke up in the support of Hong Kong.
Kanter is aware of what a wonderful nation the United States is; he enjoys the freedoms and opportunities this nation offers. The United States is the most powerful nation on earth regardless of whether certain Americans disagree with that.
