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(Graphic by Michael Wagstaffe/Yahoo Sports) 'Hypocrite Nike': Sneaker giant accused of using Uyghur forced labor in ChinaĪgainst the Washington Wizards on Oct.
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(He wrote " Free political prisoners" on his shoes to little fanfare in 2020.) "I talk about China one day, and I was getting a phone call once every two hours." Kanter did not clarify who is calling him.īoston Celtics center Enes Kanter has worn a series of custom-designed sneakers to protest alleged human rights abuses in China. "I've been talking about all the human rights violations and injustices happening in Turkey for 10 years, and I did not get one phone call," Kanter told CNN this month. Kanter's father spent seven years in a Turkish prison over similar allegations. Dubbed by Kanter the "the Hitler of our century," Erdogan labeled Kanter a terrorist for his support of Fethullah Gulen, an exiled Muslim cleric who Erdogan accused of orchestrating a failed coup attempt in 2016. His opposition to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been met with death threats. Kanter is no stranger to authoritarianism. Designed by Chinese artist Badiucao, the sneakers have featured a host of pointed messages: "Free China," "Taiwan belongs to the Taiwanese people," "Free Hong Kong," "Free Uyghur," "No Beijing 2022," "Stop genocide, torture, rape, slave labor," "Stop organ harvesting in China," "Close the camps" and "Modern-day slavery." He has worn custom shoes every game since in support of citizens of Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang seeking sovereignty from Chinese rule. Kanter told CNN the employees apologized at halftime. Kanter has not responded to multiple requests for clarification on this subject. He was allowed to wear them, and he did wear them. If anyone asked Kanter not to wear "Free Tibet" sneakers, they did so out of turn. Political and social justice messaging on sneakers has increased since the league lifted restrictions on sneaker colors in 2018.
Players have long scrawled statements on their sneakers, and the NBA never explicitly ruled against it, other than outlawing third-party corporate messaging. Kanter told CNN, "Two guys from the NBA came up to me and said, 'You have to take your shoes off. 20 season opener against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. So, it raised eyebrows when Kanter said two NBA employees asked him to remove sneakers sporting the words " Free Tibet" on them prior to his Oct.