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Professional basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom accused the National Basketball Association (NBA) of hypocrisy over its decision to host a “civic engagement night” the day before Election Day, while remaining silent on the Chinese “dictatorship” that he says the league is “profiting off of.”
“The NBA’s biggest backer is China — so when they promote Civic Engagement here, do they care to comment about a dictatorship they are profiting off of? The NBA constantly told me ‘we don’t want to get involved in politics’… I guess what they meant to say was ‘we don’t want to upset China.”‘
According to an NBC report, the NBA will not hold any games on Election Day, but will hold a “civic engagement night” the Monday before the midterm elections to encourage fans and staff to get out and vote.
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Enes Kanter Freedom was released from the Houston Rockets earlier this year.
(Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports)
Kanter Freedom, currently an NBA free agent, said he supports the NBA’s decision to not hold games on Election Day, but suggested the league may encourage players to vote for one party over the other.
“I think this move by the NBA is a great idea, Election Day should be a federal holiday where everyone can go out and vote,” said Kanter Freedom in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. “The issue though is, that the NBA subliminally encourages players to vote a certain party. I have had coaches lose jobs who expressed conservative values — that’s an issue,” he continued.
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LeBron James and Enes Kanter Freedom.
(Elsa/Getty Images)
Fox News’ Tucker Carlson recently obtained exclusive recordings that found NBA officials talking about controlling Kanter Freedom’s criticism of the Chinese Communist Party after the outspoken player wore anti-CCP slogans on the basketball court. The recordings suggested that China would not do business with the NBA if the players are criticizing the communist country.
“This is the evidence of how a 100% American-made company is run by the Chinese dictatorship,” Kanter Freedom said. “[W]ake up America. This is the league that you have been supporting and watching. Enough is enough. And this is unacceptable.”
Former Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter Freedom claimed “the NBA subliminally encourages players to vote a certain party”
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
The NBA has come under fire in recent months as it has taken positions on social justice issues such as abortion, gay rights and the Black Lives Matter movement while maintaining silence over Chinese human rights abuses. Just last month the NBA failed to condemn China’s crackdown on the LGBTQ community.
Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
