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Enes Kanter, the starting center for the Portland Trailblazers, is calling on the Denver Nuggets to “take control” of its fans after “hurtful” chants rained down on him in last night’s game, including one telling him to go back to Turkey.
It’s been a frustrating playoff for Kantner, who was born in Switzerland but grew up in Turkey, as he battles injuries. But last night’s frustrations had nothing to with his bum shoulder; rather, it was the constant taunting from the fans in Denver which motivated him to directly tweet the Nuggets franchise today.
Kanter, who is romantically linked to WWE wrestler Dana Brooke, went 5-for-10 from the field on his way to 15 points and 9 rebounds, helping his Trailblazers to tie up the best-of-seven series with the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
After the game, Kanter didn’t appear to be overly bothered by the relentless taunting by the crowd in Denver.
“I’ve heard chants a lot. I’ve heard chants in almost every city,” a smiling Kanter told reporters after the game. “That shows a lot. It means that I’m playing hard. It’s my job, man. I’m just going to go out there and try to get under their skin and try to play physical. If they’re going to boo me, I’m doing something right.”
Despite the post-game smiles, it’s clear from today’s tweet that the crowd did indeed get under Kanter’s skin.
Why Can’t Kanter Go Back to Turkey?
GettyDENVER, COLORADO – MAY 01: Enes Kanter is restrained by his teammates while playing the Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter during Game Two of the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
According to ESPN’s Royce Young, it was just one lone fan who yelled out “Go back to Turkey, oh wait you can’t!” But Kanter obviously heard the heckle, referencing it in his tweet today, along with the fact that he couldn’t go back to Turkey even if he wanted to.
Why? Because he’s a criminal and a terrorist according to Turkish authorities, and he’d likely be thrown in prison if he ever stepped foot in the country again. Kanter has been a vocal opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan going back to his time playing in Turkish basketball leagues.
Earlier this year, he claimed that “Erdogan is an authoritarian leader who jails journalists and the opposition. He’s an anti-American leader who keeps American citizens as hostages.”
Turkey has previously banned the use of Twitter, and Kanter claims that authorities there have already thrown his father in prison.
HEY WORLD
MY DAD HAS BEEN ARRESTED
by Turkish government and the Hitler of our century
He is potentially to get tortured as thousand others
Kanter is Also Calling Out Adam Silver
As far as Turkish authorities are concerned, it seems they would prefer nobody there knew about Kanter and his part in propelling Portland to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Trailblazers’ games are not shown on Turkish television, a pointed move in a country where basketball is arguably even more popular than soccer. In an even more audacious form of censorship, the official NBA Turkey Twitter account removes any mention of Kanter’s stat lines.
That move compelled Kanter to directly call out the commissioner and the league this week.
Silver has previously suggested that he’s in Kanter’s corner in his fight against Turkey, saying in an interview earlier this year, “I support Enes as a player in this league, and I support the platform the players have.”
So far, Silver has offered no response to Kanter’s claims of censorship in Turkey.