Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter’s scathing remarks about Chinese President Xi Jinping had consequences for the team he plays for.
Kanter sent a pro-Tibet message in a social media video this week and doubled-down by rocking “Free Tibet” on his sneakers during the game against the New York Knicks. He called Xi a “brutal dictator.”
“My message to the Chinese government is free Tibet. Tibet belongs to Tibetans, I am here to add my voice and speak out against what is happening in Tibet under the Chinese government’s brutal rule,” he said.
He added: “I say, ‘Shame on the Chinese government.’ The Chinese dictatorship is erasing Tibetan identity and culture.”
As a result of his actions, the Celtics-Knicks game was “unavailable” to be replayed on Tencent, the Chinese streaming giant, according to the New York Times.
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Tencent Sports reportedly indicated it would not stream Celtics games for the foreseeable future, which is the same move pulled on the Philadelphia 76ers as punishment for then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s pro-Hong Kong support a few years ago.
