Enes Kanter Freedom of the Boston Celtics continued to call out LeBron James of the LA Lakers on Tuesday after practice. Freedom, who recently became a United States citizen, wants to educate James with regards to the Republic of China's human rights issues.
In a report by Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Freedom spoke to the media after Tuesday's Celtics practice and was wearing a "Freedom for Uyghur" shirt. The 29-year-old big man, who has called out China, Nike, LeBron James and Michael Jordan among others, has been using his status as an NBA player to be a human rights activist.
One of the things Enes Kanter Freedom said to the press is that he is open to "educating" LeBron James on human rights issues regarding China. Freedom is willing to have a private conversation with James and help him bring change. He also mentioned that "The King" does not need any more money since his family's future generations will have great lives.
"Sure, I'd love to sit down and talk to him. I'm sure it's going to be a very uncomfortable conversation for him. I don't know if he's gonna want that. I'll make that really comfortable for him. I don't know if he's educated enough, but I'm here to educate him and I'm here to help him, because it's not about money," Enes Kanter Freedom said.
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"It's about morals, principles and values. It's about what you stand for. There are way bigger things than money. If LeBron stopped making money now, his grandkids and grandkids and grandkids can have the best life ever," Freedom added.
Enes Kanter Freedom has been calling out Nike and LeBron James for staying silent on the alleged forced labor of the Uyghur people in China. As per Simina Mistreanu of Forbes, a study by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute showed that Nike and 87 other multinational companies are linked to forced labor factories in China.
Meanwhile, LeBron James has an estimated net worth of around $850 million as of 2021. The LA Lakers star is expected to become a billionaire once he retires due to his total salary from playing in the NBA, sponsorship money and income from business ventures.
It's likely that Enes Kanter Freedom's comments on LeBron James' future generations living the best lives will turn out to be true.
LeBron James, Enes Kanter Freedom talk about their encounter on November 19th
Last November 18th, LeBron James and the LA Lakers visited Enes Kanter Freedom and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. It was James' return from injury, but the Lakers lost to the Celtics. Freedom and James both played, but there was no confrontation.
After the game, James finally broke his silence on Freedom's criticism of him, Michael Jordan and Nike. "The King" said that he does not want to give energy to Freedom but added that he's willing to have a word with his critic. James also mentioned that they had the opportunity to talk in the hallway, but Freedom walked right by him.
In the same report by Tim Bontemps, Enes Kanter recalled that it was LeBron James who walked right past him after the game.
"I was actually on the court and after I left the court, he was behind me. ... Then I stopped to take a picture with a kid, and he was the one who walked right past me," Freedom said.
The issue between Enes Kanter Freedom and LeBron James appears to be far from over. The Boston Celtics and LA Lakers are set to face each other on December 7th at Staples Center. It will be interesting to see if the two players will be together on the court or if they finally meet privately and talk about China's alleged human rights violations of the Uyghur people.
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