The Boston Celtics’ Enes Kanter recently took another jab at Los Angeles Lakers star player LeBron James for reportedly choosing money over morals on the issues of forced labor in China, Uyghurs and Tibet.
What happened: Kanter, 29, took to social media on Thursday to again call out James, 36, for not standing up against Nike and its alleged use of forced labor when manufacturing its shoes.
- “Money over Morals for the ‘King,’” Kanter tweeted, referencing James. “Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice. They really do “shut up & dribble” when Big Boss (China) says so.”
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- “Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research?” the NBA center asked James.
- He also posted pictures of four new sneakers featuring James. On one of the sneakers, the “Space Jam 2” star can be seen being crowned by China’s Xi Jinping. The other shoes’ messages read, “I Am Informed and Educated on the Situation” and “Hey, Still Researching and Getting Educated?”
- Kanter has been speaking out against China on several political issues, including their treatment of Uyghurs, Tibet and Taiwan. Last week, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen thanked the NBA star for supporting Taiwan’s freedom. He also called for the boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing while calling Xi an “insecure tyrant.”
Lessened court time: Speaking to “Fox and Friends” on Wednesday, OutKick founder Clay Travis claimed Kanter is facing consequences for his strong criticism of China on the basketball court. This is a claim that the basketball player seemingly hinted at in an Instagram post he shared this week.
- Travis believes Kanter’s continued criticism of China and its leader has resulted in him being given less playing time.
- The player appeared in all 72 games with the Portland Trailblazers in 2020, with an average of 24.4 minutes on the court. However, Kanter reportedly only played eight minutes during Monday’s Cleveland Cavaliers game, which was his first court appearance since Oct. 30.
- “My thing is strictly basketball,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said about Kanter’s lessened court appearance. “We’re switching a lot and doing some things that probably are not as natural for him and that’s limited his time to some extent. Nothing basketball-related will be based on (social media).”
Featured Image @EnesKanter (left), @kingjames (right)
