Professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics, Enes Kanter, shared critical remarks for China’s President Xi Jinping as they had consequences for the organization overseas.
Kanter sent a message in his Facebook video on Wednesday and also in the game against the New York Knicks, where he wore ‘Free Tibet’ on the sneakers where he called Xi Jinping a ‘Brutal Dictator’.
“My message to the Chinese government is free Tibet. 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,” he said.
He further added: “I say, ‘Shame on the Chinese government.’ The Chinese dictatorship is erasing Tibetan identity and culture.”
The Chinese streaming giant made the Celtics-Knicks game unavailable to most of the users, as per the news shared by New York Times. The streaming company also indicated that it would not be streaming the Celtic games due to the foreseeable future – this is a move that has already resulted in Philadelphia 76ers games punishment for the general manager of the Houston Rockets Daryl Morey’s pro-Hong Kong support that happened 2 years ago.
Weibo, a Chinese social media platform that is used in replacement of Facebook was used by a Celtic fan and said that they should now stop posting about the team.
“Resolutely resist any behavior that damages national harmony and the dignity of the motherland!”
The Chinese officials have already made a bigger push towards getting Tibetans to speak the standard written and spoken Chinese language.
China’s Communist Party said it “peacefully liberated” Tibetans from the so-called “oppressive theocracy” and restored Chinese rule over the region.
The critics have also said the critical move towards the assimilation of culture would spell the complete demise of the Tibetan tradition.
Enes Kanter is a talented, yet outspoken basketball player. He previously criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and expressed his fear about whether he would be killed if he steps outside the U.S.
