You might think that “Freedom” is veteran Boston Celtics big man Enes Kanter‘s middle name due to all of the activism of the Turkish center in defense of human rights in his native Turkey, and lately in particular, in China.
But if you did, you would be wrong — but only a little bit, oddly enough. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, “Freedom” will soon be his last name. Set to become a citizen of the United States of America on Monday, the Celtics center will be known thereafter as “Enes Kanter Freedom” according to Charania in a tweet on Sunday morning.
Kanter has recently stepped up his stance against China and those he believes support their oppressive policies towards ethnic minorities with their borders.
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter is legally changing his name to Enes Kanter Freedom, @TheAthletic @Stadium learned. Kanter will be his middle name, Freedom is his new last name. He becomes a U.S. citizen on Monday.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 28, 2021
He is even going so far as to publicly critique LeBron James and Michael Jordan for their endorsements of sneaker brands allegedly using forced labor in China to produce them.