Edited by: TJVNews.com

Politics and sports have always been interwoven in one way or the other over the years, but now it has reached a new level. According to a recent report in the New York Post, former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom’s name appears on 2023’s most wanted terrorists list and his former country, Turkey , has placed a bounty on his head.

The Post reported that the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has offered up to 10 million Turkish Lira, or roughly $500,000, for information leading to the capture of Freedom. The former NBA player said he learned about it a week ago.

As an outspoken activist on a variety of humanitarian and social justice causes, Kanter Freedom has earned a controversial reputation . He has been quite vocal in his condemnation of Turkey for its human rights abuses as well as confronting China for its treatment of the Uhyghers.

Speaking to the Post about his situation, Freedom, 30, said, “That makes it so dangerous. Before the bounty, Turkish intelligence were after the people on the list, but now everyone is after them because they want the money.”

He also revealed that he is looking into suing the NBA — “I’m waiting for the right time” — which Freedom claims has blackballed him for his public protests against China, according to the Post report.

In the past, Kanter Freedom has lambasted Erdoğan for being a “dictator,” as well as stepping on a photo of him at a protest, and the NBA player has even dubbed him the “Hitler of our century,” according to the Post report.

“Because of my platform, whenever I say something, it goes everywhere and the Turkish government hates that,” Freedom told the Post. “They’re really sick of it, and they said ‘enough is enough’ and are doing whatever they can to shut me up.”

Kanter Freedom’s name appears on the Turkish Terrorist Wanted List along with actual terrorists and fellow dissidents critical of the Erdoğan regime, which has routinely defied international human rights law, the Post reported.  The list also names more than a dozen journalists which is part of a larger assault on the free press in Turkey, where the number of jailed journalists has doubled in the past year, the report indicated.

Freedom also told the Post that he is even more concerned about his personal security now that he has learned about the bounty on his head. He also said that he is in constant contact with the FBI and local law enforcement authorities. He is currently living in Washington, DC.  He told the Post,  “I’m being protected 24/7,” and added that he is more worried for the safety of the lesser-known Turkish dissidents on Erdoğan’s list.

“I’m speaking out because I am not the only one on that list,” Freedom told the Post. “There are so many journalists, so many activists, and so many athletes, but they aren’t as well-known as me. They are way easier targets — and they’re alone out there.”

When Freedom began to offer his criticism of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party, he created a rift in the NBA as the league makes billions of dollars in revenue from China via nearly half a billion viewers, the Post reported.

Moreover, Freedom has spoken out against the sportswear manufacturer, Nike, which is an NBA advertiser and player sponsor, the Post reported. Freedom has issues with the league’s  manufacturing deals in China.

Freedom became known for wearing sneakers with messages like “Free Tibet,” “Free Uyghur,” and “No Beijing 2022,” painted by dissident artists, during games and has said he was pressured by the league to take off his shoes and keep his mouth shut, the Post reported.

For his part, Freedom refused to remain silent about the human rights abuses in China and this led to a disagreement in 2019 with NBA Star LeBron James.

In 2021, Freedom told the Post thatm “I tweeted that Hong Kong should be free. Then Le Bron said he is not educated enough about the situation to comment on it and that what I tweeted hurt the league. It’s sad that these players are social justice warriors, but, when it comes to China, they are scared to say anything … Your values are more important than any money you can ever make from China.”

Having played with the Boston Celtics, Freedom was traded to the Houston Rockets in February but now he told the Post that he is being blackballed by the NBA. He was quickly dropped after that he says.

“The NBA is never going to admit it, but I believe I’m being blackballed,” he told The Post. “I’ve had many conversations and everyone is saying the same thing: ‘Your career has ended because of your China comments.’”

Now, Freedom is “waiting for the right time” to sue the league. “They are a 100% American made organization, but they are being controlled and run by the biggest dictatorship in the world, China,” he told the Post. “How can China fire an American citizen from an American organization? That is unacceptable.”

NBA spokesman Mike Bass told The Post that, “The league office has had no involvement in team roster decisions involving Mr. Freedom.”

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, speaking with the New York Times this past March, denied that Kanter is being blackballed, the Post reported. “We spoke directly about his activities this season,” Silver said at the time. “and I made it absolutely clear to him that it was completely within his right to speak out on issues that he was passionate about.”