Politics have found a way into everything lately, and now more and more NBA players and other pro athletes speak out about the political and social situation in the U.S. and the world.

However, when Gregg Popovich says something about Donald Trump, or Colin Kaepernick kneels when the anthem plays, they are still protected by the First Amendment, if not by American values and freedoms. However, when Turkish international and Thunder center Enes Kanter decides to speak his mind, he could face serious consequences.

Enes Kanter has, for a part of his life, been associated with Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish politician and preacher and his foundation gave Kanter the funds to continue his education. However, Gulen is a fierce opponent of current Turkish president and, as Kanter puts it, dictator Recep Tayip Erdogan. So, when Kanter said that he is firmly standing behind his political choice, he was banned from entering Turkey and there was even an arrest warrant issued against him in Turkey.

Also, there was an incident a couple of weeks ago when Kanter flew to Romania for his charity foundation, and was stopped and held by Romanian airport security due to his Turkish passport being completely void — only because he disagrees with Erdogan politically.

However, what happened now is starting to become surreal for Enes. Apparently, Kanter's father has been arrested in Turkey as a part of the huge arrests of journalists, political activists and other prominent figures connected in some way to Gulen. As Kanter says in his tweet earlier today, his father might even be tortured, along with others who were arrested.

We can only say that this is bigger than basketball, and that this is, as Kanter says, a reincarnation of the worst times in human history. Of course, we can only hope everything will be okay and his father will be released soon from prison. Our prayers and thoughts are with the whole Kanter family.