Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter, who speaks up frequently about human rights abuses around the world, and most specifically in China, is reportedly changing his legal name to "Enes Kanter Freedom" when he becomes a US citizen.
On Sunday, The Atlantic and Stadium writer Shams Charania reported that Kanter will become his middle name, and Freedom will become his new legal surname.
The Celtics player, who grew up in Turkey, will become a US citizen on Monday.
Kanter has spoken out in recent months against China and its frequent human rights abuses. Earlier in November, he spoke out in support of Taiwan, stating that he stands with Taiwan, and that the island does not belong to China.
Freedom is Essential for ALL ? pic.twitter.com/56DqpEyVCD
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) July 31, 2020
"Taiwan is a democratic and free country, and I stand with Taiwan," Kanter said in a video posted to Twitter. "Did you know that even though Taiwan has their own history, their own government, their own land, their own elections, their own everything, Xi Jinping is stuck in his own world."
"[Jinping] claims Taiwan is a part of China and consistently threatens to invade Taiwan," Kanter added. "The country's 24 million Taiwanese people just want to live peacefully and freely. They cherish freedom, human rights, and democracy. Taiwan is a force for good."
Kanter has also spoke out in-depth about the human rights abuses against the Uyghur people of eastern China.
On Saturday, Kanter spoke out against the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing China, telling Fox News that "the Chinese Communist Party does not represent the Olympic core values of excellence of respect of friendship, and they're a brutal dictatorship, and they engage in censorship and they threaten the freedoms and they do not respect human rights."
"And right while we speak right now, there is a genocide happening. And, you know, the IOC, the International Olympic Committee is complicit and echoes the CCP propaganda and the US even is considering a diplomatic boycott and I hope they do and shame on all these athletes and all these governments and countries that have not boycotted yet," he continued.
"There is a genocide happening right now. Right now, as I speak this message. Torture. Rape. Forced abortions and sterilizations. Family separations. Arbitrary detentions. Concentration camps. Political re-education. Forced labor," Kanter said in an October video.
"This is all happening right now to more than 1.8 million Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region in northern western China. Uyghurs are a Turkish - Muslim ethnic group, native to the Uyghur region. The Chinese government has been taking sweeping measures to crack down on the Uyghur people. Simply because they embrace their own religion, their own culture, language, history, and identity," he continued.
Kanter has issued an invitation for Nike owner Phil Knight, as well as challenging signature sneaker features LeBron James and Michael Jordan, to visit China with him to see firsthand just how the popular shoe brand is made and witness the slave labor camps in the country's Xinjiang region.
He has also played in shoes that are plastered with controversial anti-Nike and anti-save labor messages, that have blood splattered across them.
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