The league office continues to support Enes Kanter amid ongoing fall out from his vocal opposition to President Recep Erdogan of his native Turkey.
After the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Kanter expressed dismay at the NBA's official Turkish twitter account conspicuously leaving him out of its recap.
What a messed up country lead by #TurkishDictator @RTErdogan
Only Turkish player out here tonight, and the official @NBA for Turkey @NBAturkiye is censoring me. They dont show blazers games in Turkey. The government controls people,this a problem. How can official NBA allow this pic.twitter.com/Zvny0NwF8C— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) May 2, 2019
Later, in response to a tweet about one Nuggets fan making light of his inability to return to Turkey due to an outstanding warrant for his arrest, Kanter tweeted that he “chose to support, democracy, freedom and human rights,” urging Denver to “take control” of fans at Pepsi Center.
I wish I could go back to Turkey to see Family 😔
But I chose to support Democracy, Freedom and Human rights,
I am grateful for most Americans supporting that right. @nuggets take control of your fans.
This is hurtful 💔
Be grateful for the Democracy and Freedom we have here. https://t.co/SMGu9j3qc4— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) May 2, 2019
On Wednesday, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum issued a statement in support of Kanter, severing ties with the local vendor who ran the league's twitter account in Turkey. Via Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press:
NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum: “Fans in Turkey can watch all playoff games featuring Enes Kanter and the Portland Trail Blazers on NBA League Pass and NBA TV International. The NBA Turkey Twitter account was managed by a local vendor & we are terminating that relationship.” https://t.co/itouwLjpEM
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) May 2, 2019
The NBA Players' Association also released a statement backing Kanter, noting that the union “supports our players using their platforms to stand up for their beliefs and the principles they support.”
Kanter signed with the Blazers in February after securing his release from the New York Knicks. He was twice unable to play in road games against the Toronto Raptors during the regular season due to his passport being revoked by the Turkish government. Starting at center for Portland due to a season-ending injury to Jusuf Nurkic, Kanter is averaging 15.3 points and 9.6 rebounds on 60.3 percent shooting in 30.3 minutes per game so far in the postseason.
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