Enes Kanter Freedom might never play in the NBA again after he spent much of this season bashing China’s human rights violations. According to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, Kanter Freedom wasn’t blackballed for his activism, but the basketball center disagrees.
In an interview with Sopan Deb of The New York Times, 29-year-old Kanter Freedom said “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize why I got little playing time and was released. But it does take people with a conscience to speak out and say it’s not right.”
Many have compared Kanter Freedom’s situation to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee for social justice in 2016 and never received another legitimate contract offer to play in the league.
Kanter Freedom has been critical of ongoing Chinese human rights violations against the Muslim Uyghurs and has specifically criticized the NBA for continuing to profit off business relations with China. Prior to this season’s trade deadline, Kanter Freedom was dealt from the Boston Celtics to the Houston Rockets. He was promptly waived by the Rockets and has yet to land another job in the NBA.
According to The Times, Silver denied Kanter Freedom was blackballed and called comparisons to Kaepernick “completely unfounded and unfair.”
“We spoke directly about his activities this season,” Silver added to The Times, “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.”
While many conservatives have criticized the NBA for Kanter Freedom’s release, comparing him to Kaepernick from a performance standpoint is unjust.
Kaepernick was just four years removed from leading the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance when he was seemingly banished by the NFL. He was a nationally recognized quarterback when he began his protest, and he remained an effective player despite the 49ers’ shortcomings during his final season.
In comparison, many of Kanter Freedom’s more recent supporters didn’t know who he was before he began speaking out against China. Kanter Freedom was never known as a top player, and his style of play is now a relic in the NBA, a league that prioritizes versatility and shooting over seven-footers who struggle defensively and are one-dimensional offensively.
That’s not to take away from Kanter Freedom’s activism throughout his career. In addition to calling out China’s injustices, Kanter Freedom has, for years, condemned human rights abuses in Turkey. But at this point in his career, it seems more likely that Kanter Freedom is without a job in the NBA simply because his talents are no longer fit for the pros.