Enes Kanter picked up his player option and has at least one more year with the New York Knicks. On the court, he is a solid player who is going to be a big part of the Knicks team this year, but off the court, he has a lot of problems in his personal life.
Kanter has been very outspoken about his dislike for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and it has caused a lot of problems. He has a warrant out for his arrest in Turkey, has had his passport revoked and receives multiple death threats every week.
“I don’t just get hate mail. I get three or four death threats every week. With death threats – you just never know,” Kanter told Fox News. “It’s pretty crazy. I used to take a screen shot of them, but after a while I was getting so many, I decided I wasn’t going to bother and waste my time anymore. It’s pretty disgusting.”
Kanter said that he feels safe inside the United States, but outside the United States, there could be a lot of problems. Kanter's family has also faced a lot of backlash in Turkey, and they can't even come to the United States because of the things that he has said.
“My family in Turkey can’t even come to America, they can’t even leave the country. It is pretty sad, just because of me they are going through all these tough times,” he lamented. “They raided my family’s house a year ago, they took all their electronics and laptops and everything. They wanted to see if I am still in contact with them. If I send one single message to them, they will go to jail.”
As long as Kanter stays in the United States he shouldn't ever have to face prosecution in Turkey, but if he leaves he won't have as many protections.
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