The Global Times — a media mouthpiece for China's Communist government — posted a blistering story Friday ridiculing NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom after he was cut from the Houston Rockets shortly after the Boston Celtics traded him last week.
Why? Because Freedom has been a vocal China critic, particularly in regard to its human rights abuses against the Uyghurs.
What did the paper say?
The Times wrote that upon hearing the news about Freedom, "netizens swarmed" to Twitter "mocking the player who has been ignorant and arrogant on China's core interests and internal affairs such as those involving Xinjiang, Xizang, and Taiwan."
The paper added a comment from Chen Weihua, China Daily's EU bureau chief, who said of Freedom: "Now you can be a full time John Bolton puppet."
World Daily added that Freedom's charge regarding Nike's "alleged use of 'forced labor' in China ... proved to be fictitious and fabricated."
The paper also included what it said was a comment from "another netizen" regarding Freedom's speaking slot at the Conservative Political Action Conference later in February in Orlando, Florida: "I always thought of you as someone that stood for freedom, and then I heard you're going to CPAC, the exact people that are actively taking away freedoms in the US."
And a Beijing-based sports commentator who requested anonymity told the Global Times that Freedom "didn't focus on basketball as a player and lost his job… And Chinese fans can expect to watch Boston's games soon."
The paper added that "Freedom repeatedly made false and irresponsible comments regarding China's Xinjiang in 2021. Meanwhile, he publicly declared his support for Xizang and Taiwan secessionists."
Anything else?
Freedom correctly predicted in an PBS interview last week that he'd soon be gone from basketball due to his views.
Freedom became an American citizen last year and decided to officially change his name to Enes Kanter Freedom to mark the occasion.
Last month, Freedom blasted Chamath Palihapitiya, a co-owner of the Golden State Warriors, for brushing off China's oppression of the Uyghurs. "When genocides happen, it is people like this that let it happen," Freedom said of Palihapitiya.
Freedom added in a subsequent tweet that Palihapitiya's "disgusting" comments are "against everything the @nbastands for; I want the #NBA commissioner Adam Silver & @warriors board members to step in and push him to [sell] his shares."
Freedom also has boldly spoken out against NBA icons like LeBron James for cozying up to China and ignoring the Communist nation's human rights abuses.
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