Rumors

Burack: If you had known that speaking out would have cost you your NBA career, would you have still done it? Enes Kanter Freedom: I would do this every time. No question. Why? While they are playing basketball right now, there is a genocide happening on the other side of the ocean. There are three to four million people in concentration camps who are tortured every day. And Uyghurs are not the only ones — you see what’s happening in places like Hong Kong, Tibet, Taiwan and Mongolians. So this is bigger than my next paycheck. Of course I would do it all over again.

OutKick

Long-time NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, whose advocacy on Xinjiang and Tibet has ruffled feathers, hopes to bend UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet's ear on Thursday about her forthcoming China visit.

MSN

Enes FREEDOM: Hypocrites! I see @Celtics coaching staff wearing Ukrainian flag pins, which I support What about Syria,Afghanistan,Uyghurs, Hong Kong,Tibet,Taiwan Why is it okay to speak up about human rights violations there but not in other countries? Is there not much profit from Russia?

Twitter

The Boston Celtics are facing blowback in China after center Enes Kanter posted a video voicing his support for Tibetan independence. The reaction was swift. Chinese video-streaming giant Tencent cut the live broadcast of Wednesday’s NBA game between the Celtics and the New York Knicks. On Thursday, Chinese social media was filled with a flood of angry fans calling for a boycott.

Washington Post

“My message to the Chinese government is free Tibet,” he said in a video posted on his various social media accounts. “Tibet belongs to Tibetans, I am here to add my voice and speak out against what is happening in Tibet under the Chinese government’s brutal rule.” Kanter called Xi a “brutal dictator” in the video’s accompanying caption and criticised the Chinese government’s actions in Tibet before saying he could no longer “stay silent” on the issue.

SCMP

“If you want to make China a significant part of your business, you have to understand that there are political risks involved,” said a sports industry source this week with extensive history negotiating deals with China. “You don’t see movies about Tibet much anymore. You don’t see Chinese as villains. Look at ‘The Martian’; it was the Chinese coming to the rescue. Hollywood has learned – not without some criticism – and they have accepted. China is about to become the biggest box office in the world.”

The Athletic

Glen Davis sounds like he needs a trip to Tibet, or to the nearest ashram. Last night’s four-point, 1-for-4 performance, including two airballs, left the forward with a 3.5 scoring average in this series, and 4.8 points in eight playoff games. “I’ve been nowhere to be found through this whole playoffs,” he said after last night’s 98-90 overtime loss to Miami. “I need to find myself.”

Boston Herald