(per Wikipedia) Enes Kanter Freedom, born Enes Kanter, is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Boston Celtics. Born in Switzerland to Turkish parents, he was raised in Turkey and moved to the United States as a teenager. Freedom was selected as the third overall pick of the 2011 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. A center, Freedom played for five NBA teams during his eleven year career. Between 2008 and 2015, he represented the Turkish national team in international play.

Kanter said he became publicly critical of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2013 due to the corruption scandal in Turkey. After the failed 2016 coup d’état attempt, Kanter criticized Turkish president Erdoğan on Twitter, calling him the “Hitler of our century”.

[. . .] In Turkey, Kanter’s father was charged as a member of a terrorist group in 2018. He was arrested, then was released after being detained for five days. Kanter believed his father was targeted by the Turkish government and could face many years in prison. Kanter was unable to contact his friends and family back in Turkey because he feared the conversations will be taped and they will be harmed. Six days after the cancellation of his passport, the Turkish government issued an arrest warrant for Kanter due to his membership in Hizmet, an Islamist fraternal movement.

[. . .] It was reported on January 19, 2023, the Turkish government placed a $26,600 bounty on Enes Kanter and his name was added to the Grey Tier of Turkey’s terrorist list.

[. . .] Kanter became an American citizen on November 29, 2021, and also legally changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom at the same time to mark the occasion.