Enes Kanter Slams Professional Sports Leagues For Not Speaking Out On China: ‘They’re Scared’

The Boston Celtic’s Enes Kanter slammed professional sports leagues and other high profile individuals during a Fox News interview on Tuesday for refusing to speak out about the atrocities taking place inside of communist China, saying that they are “scared” and they only care about money.

Kanter was interviewed by Martha MacCallum over a piece that he had published in The Wall Street Journal and a tweet that accompanied it where he weighed in on a high-profile Chinese tennis player that has gone missing at times since speaking out about an alleged sexual assault perpetrated by a high-ranking Chinese official.

“Move the Olympics for Peng Shuai’s Sake!!!” Kanter said. “It’s time for us to WAKE UP and SPEAK UP!! All the gold medals in the WORLD aren’t worth selling your morals, values and your principles.”

When asked by MacCallum if he felt like he was alone in his constant speaking out against China, Kanter said, “I mean, someone had to do it.”

“You know, you see, there’s so many athletes, so many actors, you know, so many singers and rappers out there,” Kanter said. “They’re scared. They’re scared to say a word because they care too much about their money. They care too much about their endorsement deals. They care too much about what the teams that they play for are going to say. But, you know, they should know one thing: It should be morals and principles over money. It shouldn’t be the opposite way.”

“And it’s so important, especially athletes, because there are so many young generation out there are watching us and idolizing us,” he continued. “So, if we don’t stand up against this dictatorships who will? So, to me it was really important. And I do feel alone, yes, because so many, you know, people out there are scared to say a word because they care too much about the business side of it. But to me, human rights are way more important than everything you can offer me.”

Kanter also spoke out against the genocide that China is committing in Xinjiang against religious minorities and China’s other tyrannical actions, saying that the communist nation does not represent the Olympic’s core values.

“They are a brutal dictatorship and they engage in censorship, they threaten the freedoms, and they don’t respect human rights, and they hide the truth,” he said. “And while we speaking right now, Martha, there is a genocide happening. There are millions of people in concentration camps … they’re getting tortured, and they’re getting gang raped every day.”

Kanter said that “organizations like NBA, NFL, NHL, MLS, MLB” should take note of how the Women’s Tennis Association is standing up to China because “people’s lives … is way more important than business side of it.”

“So, I feel like we should definitely hold th[ese] organizations accountable, especially when they call themselves a social justice organizations,” he added. “But when, if it affects their money, if it affects their pocket, and their business, they are telling us to stay remain silent, but I feel like we have a huge platform and we need to use this platform.”

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TRANSCRIPT:

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS HOST: My next guest tweeted, quote, ‘Move the Olympics for Peng Shuai’s sake!!! It’s time for us to WAKE UP and SPEAK UP!! All the gold medals in the WORLD aren’t worth selling your morals, values and your principles.’ Boston Celtics Center Enes Kanter joins me now. Enes, thank you very much. It’s great to have you with us today. And you’ve shown so much courage in speaking out about this and I loved how in the piece that you wrote in The Wall Street Journal, you cited what’s possible when athletes speak out, citing Bill Russell stood up against racial injustice, Muhammad Ali against the Vietnam War, Arthur Ashe against apartheid in South Africa. Why do you think, do you feel like you’re alone when you’re, you know, putting all of these things on your sneakers and protesting China?

ENES KANTER, BOSTON CELTICS: I mean, someone had to do it. You know, you see, there’s so many athletes, so many actors, you know, so many singers and rappers out there. They’re scared. They’re scared to say a word because they care too much about their money. They care too much about their endorsement deals. They care too much about what the teams that they play for are going to say. But, you know, they should know one thing: It should be morals and principles over money. It shouldn’t be the opposite way. Because people’s lives depends on this. And it’s so important, especially athletes, because there are so many young generation out there are watching us and idolizing us. So, if we don’t stand up against this dictatorships who will? So, to me it was really important. And I do feel alone,

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