OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
The NBA’s Enes Kanter has harsh criticized the Nike company, billionaire Michael Jordan, and superstar LeBron James for amassing enormous wealth due to “modern-day slavery” in China.
Kanter, who plays center on the Boston Celtics Center, is speaking up in order to expose the horrors in China that few are willing to discuss.
He is taking a strong stance against the Chinese Communist Party and those who support it.
Nike and LeBron, he argues, are merely virtue signalers in the U.S. who attempt to show others that they are good people. In reality, they are secretly supporting an immoral and inhumane system in China that allows them to personally profit massive amounts of money.
“Here, in the United States, Nike stands with Black Lives Matter, Nike stands with Stop Asian Hate, Nike stands with the Latino community, and Nike stands with the LGBTQ community,” Kanter begins.
“And Nike remains vocal about injustice here in America,” he continued.
“But when it comes to China, Nike remains silent. You do not address police brutality in China, you do not speak about discrimination against the LGBTQ community, you do not say a word about the oppression of minorities in China,” he explains.
“You are scared to speak up,” he directly tells them.
Watch the clip:
Dear @Nike
Stop the modern day SLAVERY, now!!!#HypocriteNike#EndUyghurForcedLabor pic.twitter.com/tvX2k3wE4X
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 25, 2021
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Many virtue signalers and preeners like to cast themselves as brave, and to be lauded for their “courage.” Kantor actually deserves such approbation, in this case. He knows that the CCP has zero tolerance for dissent, and has used its economic muscles to silence and punish critics, bending Western institutions – from industries to companies to organizations to governments – to the will of Beijing…
But Kanter has spoken out against his native country’s leadership, a potential risk to his own safety, so he’s unfazed by the wrath of Chairman Xi. What started with intense criticism of China on Tibet grew into strong advocacy on behalf of oppressed Uighurs. As Spencer and Leah have covered recently, Kanter has not been subtle or diplomatic. He’s identifying evil (actual genocide) and treating it as such:
What came as a truly pleasant surprise, and is likely a source of no small measure of agita within NBA circles, is Kanter’s decision to broaden out his critique to include Nike – home to some of the biggest woke phonies in all of corporate America. Kanter directly addressed the sneaker giant’s leaders, noting that they preach one thing at home, then look the other way on atrocities in China.
My only real quibble with this forceful display is that Nike has not merely been “silent” on China’s myriad abuses. It’s worse than that. When another NBA figure, then-Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey, published a single tweet in favor of democracy in Hong Kong, the fallout was swift…
The CCP censored broadcasts of Rockets games in China. Major superstars like LeBron James and Steph Curry blasted Morey, with LeBron reportedly lobbying behind the scenes for the executive to be punished for his free speech. There was a lot of sweet, sweet money on the line, after all. And Nike, a titan in the sports apparel world, pulled Rockets gear from Chinese shelves. In appeasement-minded solidarity with Communist China. Against democracy. This is far more appalling than silence; it’s active, profit-driven complicity.