What the hell is going on with the Genocide Olympics?
NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom on the Beijing games and money over morals
Over the last few years, sports leagues and stars have gotten into the business of politics with gusto. MLB pulled the All-Star Game out of Georgia, displeased with the state’s GOP voting reforms. The NBA embraced courts with the “Black Lives Matter” slogan. The NFL leapt in with a commitment to play the “Black National Anthem” at all of its games. But, it turns out that professional sports isn’t interested in the causes it claims to embrace so much as it’s interested in propitiating American leftist political elites. Enter Enes Kanter, Celtics center, now known as Enes Kanter Freedom, newly born American citizen and scourge of the Chinese Communist Party.
Freedom changed his name when he became a citizen last year and has used the platform of his sports fame to shine a light on dictatorships and human rights violators, focusing especially on his native Turkey and the crimes of the Xi Jinping government. He has slammed the Olympics — athletes and the International Olympic Committee — for tacitly condoning the Chinese Uyghur genocide, the take over of Hong Kong and predations against Taiwan. He has spoken out for Tibet. He has called loudly for the release of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai.
What a great guy? Yes and no. Yes, according to human rights campaigners and members of Congress that just forced through (over the Biden administration’s objections), the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. And no, according to the NBA, which doesn’t much go for the whole “Chinese lives matter” idea. It’s also a no from LeBron James, who doesn’t like being criticized as a shill for Beijing. Ditto the Celtics management, which can no longer broadcast its games in the PRC. And the companies that are underwriting the Genocide Olympics.
Turns out that standing for freedom has cost Freedom dearly. But as he tells Marc and me, “this is bigger than the NBA and basketball.” Yes it is, Freedom. Yes it is. Listen to our interview with him on this week’s pod. It’s unmissable. And as always, please like, subscribe, review and share the pod, and our little substack… THANK YOU.
HIGHLIGHTS
Dany: One of the things that I really wondered about was whether the NBA was leaning on you really hard. Because, of course, the NBA has its own very substantial financial interests in China. What kind of pushback have you been feeling?
Freedom: I talk about Turkey and the problems are happening in Turkey for 10 years. I did not get one phone call. I talk about China one day, my phone was ringing once every hour. I was, I mean, obviously, the first game I wore my Free Tibet shoes. I'm sure you guys know the shoes and designs that we come up with. In half time, my manager messaged me and said, "Every Celtics games are banned in China." It took them 24 minutes, because one half is 24 minutes, to ban every Celtics game in television over there in China.
Freedom: …obviously, it's been a very lonely road. That's what I will say. Because many of the athletes, not just from the NBA, but all around every league, or coaches or people who has anything to do with sports, are scared to support me out loud. Whenever I have a conversation privately, they're like, "Listen, man. You know, we love you. We support you. We're going to pray for you. But we just cannot do it out loud."
***
Marc: You've written that your teammates have been very supportive of you. Why is it, do you think, that so few athletes are speaking out? Not just in the NBA…we haven't seen very many athletes using the platform of the Beijing Olympics to speak out about China's human rights abuses. Why do you think everyone's so reticent?
Freedom: Fear. I think they care too much about their jersey sales, their shoe sales, endorsement deals, their next contract with whatever organization or institution they're playing with. The business that they're going to lose. I grew up as knowing that there are bigger things than money in business. That's what my family always taught me.
But I wish that more athletes would join me. It will be even a bigger movement. But it's just, when the Black Lives Matter protests were happening… We have 500 players in the league. I was the third player in the whole league went out there and protested because I do believe there are problems. Problems are happening in this country and we need to call them out. We need to hold people accountable. But obviously, unfortunately, when it comes to a country that they are doing business with, as soon as the situation that is going to affect their pocket, they remain in silence.
Freedom: [There’s only] one only association I want to give a credit to talking about what's going on and they were so brave enough was WTA, Women Tennis Association.
Freedom: So I remember, I was in D.C., we were actually rallying about this bill called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. It was just so crazy because there was two companies, I believe one of them was Apple and another one was Nike or Coca-Cola… they were lobbying against this bill… To me, it's just so crazy because now you see, like Nike, I'm just giving you an example of Nike because of NBA's biggest sponsor. It's pretty much like a modern day slavery. Instead of Communist Party, they are the one that doing their propaganda. It's just sad to see this. I mean, you look at the Olympics right now. We got Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Intel, Panasonic, PNG, Samsung, Toyota, and Visa. It's just shame on them for not putting morals over money. But they are the ones just pretty much helping Chinese government to spread their propaganda.
***
Marc : How did you become interested in China?
Freedom: Yeah, it's a crazy story because I was in a basketball camp… I was taking a picture with the kids. And one of these parents called me in front of everybody. He was literally yelling, too. He was like, "How can you call yourself a human right activist when your brothers and sisters are getting tortured and raped in concentration camps in China every day?"
Freedom: The more I read, I was just very heartbroken. And I was just very angry with myself. But I was like, "There is all kind of news out there." You don't know if it's true or not. And I did not want to talk about this and not give any facts. So I called my manager. I was like, "Find me a concentration camp survivor." He was very shocked; he thought that I was just joking. "No, I really want to talk with one."
Freedom: And once I sat down and had a Zoom meeting with this concentration camp survivor, and she was telling me about the gang rape, the torture, and the sterilization, forced abortion, and how Chinese government trying to tell the whole world that it's a re-education camp. But I mean, it's pretty much a genocide. So the Chinese government are lying.
Freedom: It broke my heart. I don't think any human being in the world who's carrying a heart that can listen to her and not say anything. Then after that, I was like, "I promise myself from now on, I'm going to do everything I can to expose this dictatorship."
Enes Freedom: When I was a little kid, I remember whenever I watched an NBA game, the first thing I looked on an NBA player: it was the shoes. What kind of shoes they're wearing, what color they are, what brand they are, if they're comfortable or not, how they feel on your feet. So I wanted to do something so big that can affect our young generation. That was my goal. Because if we can educate our young generation, we are never going to have the same problems that we are having right now. So I said, "You know what? I'm going to do something so unique and different that everyone in the world can see it actually." So I decided to create these shoes about the problems are happening in China.
Freedom: I looked at the NBA rules. There is not one rule against NBA that says that I cannot put any kind of human rights phrases on my shoes. So I designed this shoe called Free Tibet.
***
Dany: China. What should we be doing? What do you think? You are telling us, "Notice what they're doing. Acknowledge their crimes against humanity." Okay. [But] what do you think the right steps are for a country that stands for freedom, like the United States?
Freedom: First of all, when you pick up something and you see it made in China, put it down. It's that simple. That's the easiest thing you can do.
Freedom: And I think the people, especially people like us who [have a] platform, I feel like we need to hold people, organizations, associations and companies and sponsors accountable, because they are the part of the problem. And they're pretty much working for China to spread the Chinese propaganda.
***
Marc: What do you say to the athletes who are there in Beijing competing? It's a real conundrum for many of them.
Freedom: I feel like I understand the athlete's perspective, right? They're working so hard in their whole life and they maybe were going to get one shot in Olympics. They're working so hard for four years to get to that level.
Freedom:But every time I talk to an athlete, I have said this. "Think about this. If your mother, if your father, if your sister, if your daughter, if your wife was on those concentration camps right now in China, getting tortured and raped every day, would you still remain silent? Would you still go to that country and compete and be part of the propaganda?"
Freedom: I have not seen one person, or I have not seen one athlete, that answer me that question. They are staying silent. They are not saying yes or no. They just remain silent because they know it's a shame. But all the gold medals in the world that you champion is not more important than your morals, your principle and your values. It's not worth it. It's not worth selling your morals to a country like China.
***
Marc: When is your contract up? Are you worried that you're going to pay a personal price now for your outspokenness when it comes time to renew your time in the NBA?
Freedom: Well, I have 25 games left in my contract, and it's up after this season. I have never thought about that because if I did, then I just didn't want my contract situation to affect my activism. But recently, obviously, I've been in communicat[ion] with so many people around the league, and especially my ex-teammates and my existing coaches. They're like, "Listen, man, we love you. So we have to tell you the truth. This is your farewell tour. Enjoy it.
Full transcript here!
SHOWNOTES
“The Boston Celtics, my political activism, and a call for greater freedom,” by Enes Kanter Freedom (The Boston Globe, 12/29/21)
“Why I Stand Up for Freedom in America—And Around the World,” by Enes Kanter Freedom (Time, 12/22/21)
“Why I Became an American,” by Enes Kanter Freedom (The Atlantic, 12/9/21)
“Enes Kanter: Why I don’t shut up and play basketball,” by Enes Kanter (The Boston Globe, updated 9/7/20)
“NBA’s Enes Kanter Freedom slams China ‘puppet’ Yao Ming: ‘Big body, small heart and tiny brain’,” (Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 2/4/22)
“Why NBA player and political activist Enes Kanter added Freedom to his legal name,” (NPR, 1/13/22)
“Meet the NBA player who is taking on China and LeBron James in the name of human rights,” by Thuan Le Elston (USA Today, 12/15/21)
“Enes Kanter Freedom’s Political Awakening,” by Isaac Chotiner (The New Yorker, 12/9/21)
“Why Enes Kanter Freedom is proud to be American – and speak out on China,” by Michael Kaplan (NY Post, 12/7/21)
"’Tucker Carlson Tonight,’ November 29, 2021,” (Fox News, 11/29/21)
Enes Freedom Twitter:
· “The world needs to understand! I do NOT care about politics. The only thing I care about is Human rights, Freedom and being the voice for the voiceless. The question people should ask themselves is; Despite our differences, what can we do to make this world better, TOGETHER?” (Twitter, Enes Freedom, 2/7/22)
· “16M viewers tuned in to watch the #Beijing2022 opening ceremony, an ALL-TIME LOW for @Olympics ceremonies on linear television. 43% down from 28.3M viewers for the South Korea Winter Olympics in 2018. This is what you get for turning athletics into propaganda for an EVIL EMPIRE,” (Twitter, Enes Freedom, 2/6/22)
· “When Dictatorship is a fact, Revolution becomes a right.” (Twitter, Enes Freedom, 2/2/22)
· “These are all @NBA players who are sponsored by Chinese companies that produce their products with slave labor. Unfortunately many sports media outlets & journalists are controlled by #NBA Have some courage & ask these athletes about their ignorance,” (Twitter, Enes Freedom, 1/28/22)
· “These two lunatics, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are a threat to this world that is almost as dangerous as global warming. #Russia & #China wants to destroy democracy and export communism to the rest of the world. It is therefore important that #Ukraine and #Taiwan are supported,” (Twitter, Enes Freedom, 1/24/22)
· “This is actually funny and pathetic #China is now the second Dictatorship after Turkey that is trying to censor my name in the whole country. Why? Someone is finally standing up against them and exposing #CCP in front of the whole world Funny thing is I am just getting started,” (Twitter, Enes Freedom, 1/21/22)
· “When @NBA says we stand for justice, don’t forget there are those who sell their soul for money & business like @chamath the owner of @warriors, who says ‘Nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs’- When genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen Shame!” (Twitter, Enes Freedom, 1/17/22)
· “The International @Olympics Committee is in bed with the Chinese Government. They are complicit and echo the Cultish Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda. #NoBeijing2022,” (Twitter, Enes Freedom, 1/12/22)
· “WE did it!
Good but NOT enough.
1) I hope this encourages other countries to do a diplomatic boycott also
2) With all the human rights abuses from China,we only countered with a diplomatic boycott?
How many people need to be tortured & raped for U.S to do something more serious?” (Twitter, Enes Freedom, 12/6/21)
News:
“NBA player confirmed as CPAC speaker,” (The Hill, 2/7/22)
“Democratic Senator told NBA’s Enes Kanter Freedom that Biden is ‘scared’ to meet him,” (NY Post, 2/4/22)
“Enes Kanter Freedom is prepared to visit China, but only if he can see 'the real China',” (CNN, 1/19/22)
“Celtics' Enes Kanter Freedom blasts Warriors' co-owner's 'disgusting' dig at Uyghur crisis,” (Fox News, 1/17/22)
“Beijing 2022: Enes Kanter Freedom urges athletes to boycott Winter Olympics,” (BBC, 1/14/22)
“Enes Kanter Freedom reveals inspiration for name change,” (NBC Sports, 11/30/21)
“LeBron James responds to Enes Kanter's shoes: 'He's trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself',” (USA Today, 11/20/21)
“Enes Kanter felt encouraged to speak out against China after NBA supported players fighting other injustices,” (CNN, 11/10/21)
“NBA star Enes Kanter shares his challenges with fasting during Ramadan,” (NBC Today, 5/7/21)
“In the NBA, Freedom stands tall against China,” by Josh Rogin (WaPo, 12/9/21)
“Enes Kanter Freedom Is Letting Himself Be Used,” by Jemele Hill (The Atlantic, 12/3/21)