Enes Kanter Freedom

Enes Kanter Freedom is an NBA star, human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and New York Times bestselling author who sacrificed his family, career and home to speak out against human rights violations around the world. 

Born in Switzerland and raised in Turkey, Freedom bravely called out human rights abuses by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his home country. In response, Turkey canceled his passport, placed his name on an Interpol list, banned communication with his family, imprisoned and tortured his father, placed a $500,000 bounty on his head. The Turkish government effectively issued an international arrest warrant for Freedom.

During a visit to Indonesia in 2017, Freedom narrowly escaped a government attempt to kidnap him and return him to Turkey. Later that year, he was detained and arrested at the Bucharest airport by the Romanian government.

Over the course of 9 years, Freedom faced 12 arrest warrants and countless death threats for his activism.

After unveiling his “Anti-CCP” shoes during a 2021 NBA season opener, every Boston Celtics game was instantaneously banned at halftime in  both China and Turkey. Through the use of his “Freedom Shoes,”  in NBA games he  has advocated for the rights of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hongkongers, Taiwanese, and others facing the  Chinese  Communist Party’s oppression.

In 2021, five years after having his Turkish citizenship revoked, Enes Kanter became a  proud U.S. citizen and changed his last name to Freedom. He has since become a prominent voice for the oppressed in various countries, including Turkey, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and throughout the Middle East. 

In spite of his advocacy, the NBA traded Freedom from the Boston Celtics to the Houston Rockets in February 2022, only to be released by the Rockets just 3 minutes later. The NBA has been hesitant to sign him due to his outspoken criticism of China, attempting to silence him in the process, and resulting in a financial loss of an estimated $50 million. 

Freedom has emerged as a fearless and unapologetic defender of women and women’s sports, taking on powerful sports organizations and demanding that biological males be kept out of female athletic competitions. From confronting the WNBA to being ejected from a game, he has faced fierce backlash but refuses to back down, be intimidated, or be silenced in his fight to protect women and girls.

For Enes Kanter Freedom, the fight for freedom comes at a big cost, but his dedication to  human rights around the world remains unwavering.