Boston Celtics star Enes Kanter accurately described China’s Xi Jinping as a “brutal dictator” in a tweet calling out the treatment of people in Tibet:
Dear Brutal Dictator XI JINPING and the Chinese Government
Tibet belongs to the Tibetan people!#FreeTibet pic.twitter.com/To4qWMXK56
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 20, 2021
And he showed off these “Free Tibet” shoes he planned to wear in the game that night:
More than 150 Tibetan people have burned themselves alive!! — hoping that such an act would raise more awareness about Tibet.
I stand with my Tibetan brothers and sisters, and I support their calls for Freedom.#FreeTibet #FreedomShoes pic.twitter.com/MKxfs1l7GA
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 20, 2021
Those shoes were designed by a Chinese-Australian political cartoonist:
Kanter’s Free Tibet inspired shoes he’s wearing tonight was painted by a Chinese political cartoonist. https://t.co/RVPy2k8DoL
— Wenhao 文灏 (@ThisIsWenhao) October 21, 2021
In response to these two tweets, censors took the Celtics off the internet in China:
Boston Celtics games were pulled from the Chinese internet after Enes Kanter, a center on the team, said on social media that Xi Jinping, China's leader, was a "brutal dictator." https://t.co/0QKKINfkBv
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 21, 2021
Well, that was fast:
7 hours later, Tencent scrubbed the Celtics Game from its NBA schedule: https://t.co/ir3vocu6cb https://t.co/JLZMlY2K3Q
— Fanny Potkin (@f_potkin) October 21, 2021
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Maybe Kanter should be the face of Nike instead of Colin Kapernick?
Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything. pic.twitter.com/f5CVngR3Ru
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 21, 2021
Because this is the “real deal”:
Kanter’s the real deal https://t.co/cxz2tZporS
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) October 21, 2021
He’s doing more than tweet about it, too:
Enes Kanter is one NBA player unafraid to criticize China. He met this week w/ Students for a Free Tibet in Queens:
"I’m here to add my voice and speak about what is happening in Tibet under the Chinese government’s brutal rule. Tibetan people’s basic rights are nonexistent."— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) October 20, 2021
Now let’s see if the NBA or the Celtics step in, because they’re the ones taking the financial hit:
A Chinese Celtics news account with over 600k followers on Weibo is vowing that they would never publish anything Celtics starting right now. pic.twitter.com/m3pWrFQzf5
— Wenhao 文灏 (@ThisIsWenhao) October 21, 2021
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