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NBA fans south of the border are in for a treat, as the Oklahoma City Thunder are scheduled to play their regular-season game against the Brooklyn Nets on December 7 in Mexico City.
Unfortunately, Enes Kanter may not be able to go along for the ride. Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript elaborated further on another one of 25-year-old's issues with travelling in and out of the United States:
“Without a valid passport, [Kanter] is unable to travel to another country other than Canada, which allows entry from U.S. residents who have a Green Card. There is no such agreement with Mexico.
Kanter could receive a re-entry permit, a special document issued to citizens of other countries whose passports have been canceled for reasons the U.S. government deems unsuitable. The permit would allow Kanter to leave the U.S. for another country, such as Mexico, and still return. And the plan is for Kanter to acquire one before OKC’s game in Mexico City. Still, he is yet to receive a re-entry permit, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. There is, however, still ample time for that process to complete.”
Kanter, whose passport had been canceled by the Turkish government this May, continues to deal with such travel inconveniences after speaking against his motherland.
But as Katz had pointed out, the power forward still has close to four months to be granted a re-entry permit and make the trip to Mexico happen. And although racial and religious tensions are rampant in America this very moment, Kanter's conundrum is rather unique in that his is an isolated case far from the recent alt-right issues. This means that he'll likely be given the re-entry permit without much of a struggle, especially with endorsements from his team, the NBA, and most probably the state of Oklahoma as well.
