Enes Kanter has never been afraid to speak his mind about what is happening in his homeland of Turkey. He has been outspoken about Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and in turn, the Turkish government has given him a four-year prison sentence although he will probably never have to serve it unless he goes back to Turkey.

The outspokenness has also cost him a shoe deal. According to Kanter, Nike wanted to do a shoe deal with Kanter, but Nike is afraid Turkey will shut down all their stores in the country if they were to offer him a contract.

Via Jeff Goodman's Good N' Plenty Podcast on CLNS Media:

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“The only reason why I don’t have a shoe deal is because of this. I was talking to my agent, and then they said, “We called Nike. They’ve been watching [me]. We want to give him a contract, but because of what happened in Turkey we cannot give him a contract. Because if we give him a contract they will shut down every store in Turkey. [But] what I’m doing is way bigger than the money or the shoe deals or all the other stuff. I am going to find a shoe to wear in the game. But it’s sad that everyone is afraid to give me a contract.”

Even with everything that has gone wrong when he has talked about Turkey, don't expect Kanter to stop talking anytime soon. He is going to continue to do what he feels is right, and for him that means speak out about what is happening in Turkey.