{"id":1202197,"date":"2020-07-18T05:45:08","date_gmt":"2020-07-18T09:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1202197"},"modified":"2020-07-18T05:48:01","modified_gmt":"2020-07-18T09:48:01","slug":"enes-kanter-blames-himself-for-his-father-being-imprisoned-in-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/enes-kanter-blames-himself-for-his-father-being-imprisoned-in-turkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Enes Kanter Blames Himself For His Father Being Imprisoned in Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Foreign NBA stars often <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/remember-when-enes-kanters-cheat-day-left-him-too-sick-to-practice-the-next-day\/\">face challenging circumstances<\/a>, especially when it involves traveling for games. Several examples exist, though one of the most recent is Enes Kanter, now playing for the <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/boston-celtics\/\">Boston Celtics<\/a>. Most NBA fans will know him as a bit of a nomad in the world of pro basketball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kanter <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/enes-kanter-has-already-earned-more-money-in-the-nba-than-michael-jordan-ever-did\/\">started as a draft pick<\/a> for the Utah Jazz nine years ago. Then he moved around to several teams over the decade &#8212; and showed <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/enes-kanter-is-planning-to-accept-a-wwe-deal-after-retiring-from-the-nba\/\">interest in the WWE<\/a>. Last year, he spent a brief time with the Trail Blazers before being traded to Boston. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born in Switzerland and raised in Turkey, Kanter ran into political trouble after his dad got arrested. Some good news, however, occurred in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Enes Kanter blamed himself for his father's arrest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Enes Kanter on his father being released from prison in Turkey and marching for justice | The Jump\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-y-YdIBwiz8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The political climate in Turkey of late has certainly been controversial. President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan has often been likened to a dictator, something that still creates major political divides on a global scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier this decade, when Kanter <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/heres-how-steven-adams-helped-enes-kanter-become-a-rebounding-machine\/\">played for Utah<\/a>, the NBA star often criticized Erdo\u011fan to the press. It created major personal issues for his family still living in his home country. In 2013, reports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/23836128\/father-enes-kanter-charged-member-terror-group-turkey\">ESPN<\/a>, Kanter's father was accused of being a terrorist due to an association with Fethullah G\u00fclen, once blamed for an attempted governmental coup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, this <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/did-enes-kanter-of-the-boston-celtics-troll-kyrie-irving-again-on-twitter\/\">devastated Kanter<\/a>, and he had to go on playing in the NBA knowing his father might never be set free. At the time, Kanter said his father had to go through a kangaroo court situation where imprisonment was almost a certainty without evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Kanter, he blamed himself for his father going to prison in 2018 because he openly likened Erdo\u011fan to a &#8220;Hitler of our century,&#8221; according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/2017\/may\/22\/enes-kanter-airport-detainment-romania-turkey-passport-nba\">The Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kanter faced consequences for his views<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why NBA Star Enes Kanter Is Risking it All to Stand Up to Turkey | Op-Ed | NowThis\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NkG11DR2zao?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/enes-kanter-trolls-kyrie-irving-and-takes-his-old-number-in-boston\/\"><strong>Enes Kanter Trolls Kyrie Irving and Takes His Old Number in Boston<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to his father's conviction, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/enes-kanter-will-make-a-triumphant-return-to-canada-with-the-boston-celtics\/\">Kanter<\/a> was unable to contact any of his family in Turkey. To make matters worse, the Turkish government also declared Kanter a terrorist due to his views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This made travel more of a problem for his career. He could never go back to his home country without being immediately arrested. Plus, he had to avoid travel to Europe and Canada out of fear for his life. Rumors even said Turkey demanded Interpol put a red notice out to arrest Kanter, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2019\/01\/16\/sport\/turkey-seeks-warrant-for-knicks-enes-kanter\/index.html\">CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because of this, he had to stay grounded here in the U.S. with the assumption he would be a man without a country forever. When with the Blazers, reports <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/recap?gameId=401071603\">ESPN<\/a>, he also had to cancel a trip to Canada when the team played the Toronto Raptors in the semifinals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No other story like this exists in the NBA, including <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/nba-enes-kanter-appears-to-call-out-lebron-james\/\">Kanter<\/a> constantly living in fear of his life. Then, some good news came recently about his father somehow winning his freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Enes Kanter's father was released from prison after two years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">1) Wow!<br>I could cry<br>Today I found out that 7 years after arresting my dad, taking him through a Kangaroo court and accusing him of being a criminal just because he is my dad.<br><br>MY DAD HAS BEEN RELEASED!<br>This is due to the pressure we have put on the Turkish regime.<\/p>&mdash; Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EnesFreedom\/status\/1273976495850094594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 19, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Kanter's father was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison. On June 19, reports <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/kevin-garnetts-high-school-arrest-was-a-huge-wakeup-call-to-escape-the-south\/\">CBS Sports<\/a>, Kanter tweeted to all his fans that his father was miraculously set free due to public backlash on the matter against the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No one should say the people still never have a say in things, no matter if under an autocratic government. Celebrities and those associated with the NBA all flooded Kanter's Twitter comment section with hearty congratulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Said Kanter in his tweet: &#8220;This is due to the pressure we have put on the Turkish regime. They no longer could keep him from his freedom because of the spotlight that we all put on this case! However! He is just one person, there are still tens of thousands of people wrongfully in jail in Turkey. I will not forget you, we will not forget you&#8221;!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now Kanter has a new life pursuit in winning justice for others in his homeland. Whether that means the Turkish government will ensure his own life remains safe is another thing. At least Kanter can finish out his two-year contract with the Celtics knowing his family is safe, if a video of them reuniting being a hopeful topper.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NBA player Enes Kanter ran into political trouble after his dad got arrested, and he blamed himself. Thankfully, he got good news in June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":1202235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Enes Kanter Blames Himself For His Father Being Imprisoned in Turkey - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"NBA player Enes Kanter ran into political trouble after his dad got arrested, and he blamed himself. 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