If there is any justice in professional basketball, Enes Kanter Freedom will be remembered years from now in much the same way Muhammed Ali is remembered today—as a courageous athlete who paid a very steep price for taking a very principled position. Of course, that would mean the NBA would need to come to its senses, get off the Chinese tit, and welcome Enes back into the sport so he can go on to distinguish himself as a dominant player in the game he was born to play. And then, in the fullness of time, be properly lauded for speaking the truth, when no one else was willing to.
Alas, it seems unlikely that the NBA will come to its senses. And it seems equally unlikely that today’s greatest and most beloved stars will join him in taking a stand against China. (Paging Lebron, Steph”?) There’s just too much money to be made by remaining silent, and too much to lose by speaking up. And so, for daring to speak out publicly against a long list of human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese government, Enes Freedom will likely remain separated from his career, his friends, and most tragically, from his family in Turkey, whom he misses every day.
His book is called In the Name of Freedom. His conversation with me is called the same. Both are worth your time. Our whole conversation is here https://bit.ly/TWIHI453EnesFreedom. His book is
Here https://bit.ly/EnesFreedomBook.