Enes Kanter is a very outspoken critic of the current regime in Turkey, and it has apparently cost him relationships with his fellow countrymen in the NBA.
In an interview this week on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” the Boston Celtics big man said that he gets shunned by the other Turkish players in the league.
“What hurts me the most is other Turkish players in the league,” said Kanter. “We have Ersan Ilyasova, we have Cedi Osman, we have Furkan Korkmaz in Philly. Whenever we go against them, they don’t say a word. I actually try to talk to them. I’m like ‘Hey dude, what’s up? How you doing?’ No answer.
“Because they might be scared of the Turkish government that if they see a picture or a video of us talking or something, then they might be in trouble, whatever,” added Kanter. “So I actually cover my mouth with the jersey and just try to talk to them. They just turn their face the other way.”
Kanter also noted that he played with Ilyasova on the Oklahoma City Thunder as well as on the Turkish national team. Meanwhile, Osman and Korkmaz have played with Kanter’s brother on the national team as well.
Kanter has been a vocal opponent of Turkish president and de facto dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan for many years now. As he noted, it's possible that the aforementioned players are afraid of putting themselves or their family members who may still live in Turkey in danger by being seen with Kanter.
Considering that Kanter’s father was only recently released from prison in Turkey, those concerns definitely seem to be legitimate, creating a tough predicament.
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