Enes Kanter Freedom Once Desperately Wanted China, Nike Deals

Earlier this week, former basketball star Enes Kanter Freedom appeared before Congress to testify about his claim that he’s been “blacklisted” from the NBA over his pointed criticism of China’s persecution of the Uyghurs and the league’s relationship with the Chinese government.

Freedom once again called out other NBA players for their silence on China’s human-rights violations even though they’ve spoken out about social-justice issues in the United States, suggesting that they are scared to hurt their bottom line.

Throughout Tuesday’s hearing before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which was intended to address “cases of complicity across various industries” regarding Chinese human rights abuses, Freedom recounted the story he’s told countless times before. That is, the league, players’ union and his former team all conspired to silence him when he wore shoes in support of Tibet and the Uyghur people, eventually resulting in the premature end to his playing career.

Read more at The Daily Beast.