Enes Kanter has repeatedly fired serious shots at LeBron James for conveniently ignoring the inhumane treatment of workers in China, and now he’s changing his name legally, according to reports.
Ahead of the Celtics-Lakers game, Boston Celtics’ big man Enes Kanter took to Twitter to call out James for choosing ‘money over morals’.
The post had some custom made sneakers on them, with the messages “Morals > Money” and “Hey King, still researching and getting educated?” emblazoned on the footwear.
Money over Morals for the “King” 👑
Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice
They really do “shut up & dribble” when Big Boss 🇨🇳 says so
Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research? pic.twitter.com/YUA8rGYeoZ
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) November 18, 2021
Enes also took aim at James in the caption:
Money over Morals for the “King”
Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice
They really do “shut up & dribble” when Big Boss says so
Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research?
To the owner of @Nike, Phil Knight
How about I book plane tickets for us
and let's fly to China together.We can try to visit these SLAVE labor
camps and you can see it with your
own eyes.@KingJames @Jumpman23
you guys are welcome to come too.#EndUyghurForcedLabor pic.twitter.com/241bg887JO— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 26, 2021
The pair met in the game, but Enes didn’t seem to be interested in confronting James.
James was then asked about the situation after the game, and replied:
“trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself. Definitely won’t comment too much on that. He’s always had a word or two to say [in] my direction. As men, if you got an issue with someone, come up to him…He had an opportunity [to do that] tonight. I seen him in the hallway, he walked right past me.”
LeBron on Enes Kanter: "He's trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself…As a man, if you've got an issue with somebody, you come up to him. He had his opportunity tonight. I seen him in the hallway & he walked right by me.pic.twitter.com/KYDh5o6AMA
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 20, 2021
The feud doesn’t look like it’s close to being over, after Enes fired more shots LeBron’s way, claiming former teammates think he’s a fake when it comes to social issues.
Kanter: I had so many conversations with LeBron’s ex-teammates and even they are the one that told me that LeBron, all he’s doing is own PR and everything he’s doing trying to stand up for things is not that he really feels about it pic.twitter.com/kuWwoAfoiI
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 21, 2021
Now, the Boston Celtics center Kanter is reportedly changing his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, which people believe to be a nod to his passion as a civil rights activist.
Kanter said in a CNN interview:
“There are so many forced labor factories in China. For instance, Uyghur forced labor, it is modern day slavery, and it is happening right now in China. Millions of Uyghurs are currently detained, sold and assigned to work at forced labor camps, prisons and factories across the country. They are under constant surveillance, with long working hours and poor living conditions.
“Don’t forget, every time you put those shoes on your feet, or you put that T-shirt on your back, there are so many tears and so much oppression and so much blood behind it all.”
Kanter, who was born in Turkey, will also become a US citizen on Monday.
