Enes Kanter Freedom says he was threatened with an NBA ban

Amid COVID and the social-justice protests of 2020, the league had encouraged self-expression, and NBA players had written various messages on their shoes in Sharpie: black lives matter, say their names, wash your hands. Kanter, who spoke at a Black Lives Matter rally in Boston, was thrilled with the players’ new social awareness. But now two officials were pleading with him to change his shoes. Kanter was preparing for his U.S. citizenship test, and he reminded them of his First Amendment rights. “I don’t care if I’m fined,” he said. “Not fined,” one of them said. “Banned.” Kanter refused. “Go tell your boss I’m not taking my shoes off.” Their boss was the NBA’s commissioner, Adam Silver.
Source: George Packer @ The Atlantic

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Adam Spolane @AdamSpolane
By waiving Enes Freedom the Rockets have an open roster spot to convert one of their 2-way guys, which is what they did with Garrison Mathews, who was signed to a 4-year deal in December – 5:25 PM

Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
Rockets as expected houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-n… waive center Enes Freedom. (Deleted a tweet that included his previous last name.) – 5:04 PM

Adam Wexler @AdamJWexler
#Rockets announce that they have waived Enes Freedom. – 5:02 PM

Cayleigh Griffin @cayleighgriffin
The Rockets announced that they have waived Enes Freedom. – 5:00 PM

Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Now that the Boston-Houston trade is complete, the Rockets have waived Enes Freedom. – 5:00 PM

Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
The Rockets say they have waived Enes Freedom. – 5:00 PM

Alykhan Bijani @Rockets_Insider
The #Rockets have waived center Enes Freedom. – 5:00 PM

Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
Stephen Silas said from the Houston side of the trade with Boston that they are waiting on “clerical stuff” to clear before the trade is finalized. Dennis Schroder and Bruno Fernando have reported to the Rockets.
Enes Freedom will be waived without having to report to Houston. – 1:41 PM

More on this storyline

A senior official with the National Basketball Players Association, Kanter’s own union, kept calling and asking him not to wear anti-China shoes. “I talked about Turkey 10 years, not one phone call,” Kanter told me. “I talked about China one day, I’m getting phone calls every hour.” He told the union rep not to call again. When Kanter reached Adam Silver, they spoke for half an hour. Silver told him that he was free to say whatever he wanted with his shoes; nonetheless, at the end of the conversation, according to Kanter, Silver remarked, “Everyone knows it’s business.” Kanter took this to mean: You’re free to talk about China, but you, your team, and the NBA might face consequences. -via The Atlantic / February 16, 2022

Friends around the league advised him to enjoy the season because it was going to be his last. Freedom claims that he hasn’t been shunned by teammates, that he gets quiet support. Once, he told me, as he was getting ready to shoot a free throw, a Lakers player murmured: “Listen, man, what you’re doing is so brave, keep speaking up—but I can’t talk about it. These teams got us.” -via The Atlantic / February 16, 2022

But some players asked him to unfollow them on social media, and not one has spoken out on his behalf. “Maybe they don’t know enough about it,” he told me. “But I feel like the fear of losing money, the fear of losing business, the fear of losing endorsement deals …” He didn’t complete the obvious thought. “And also, sometimes they do not care enough about what’s going on outside America.” -via The Atlantic / February 16, 2022