NBA Center Enes Kanter Hits Nike's Not Speaking For Uyghurs

NBA star Enes Kanter has doubled down on his criticism of China and has called on Nike to do more in fighting against injustice in the country, Ben Church reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: NBA star center Enes Kanter and the customized pair of Nike shoes he has worn in actual regular season games

The Boston Celtics center, who has been outspoken about the treatment of minorities in China, wore customized shoes in his team's win against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday with the words "Modern Day Slavery" and "No More Excuses" written on them.

On Monday, he posted a video on Twitter in which he called out Nike for its silence on injustice in China. "Nike remains vocal about injustice here in America, but when it comes to China, Nike remains silent," said Kanter, in a post which used the hashtags #HypocriteNike and #EndUyghurForcedLabor.

"You do not address police brutality in China, you do not speak about discrimination against the LGBTQ community, you do not say a word about the oppression of minorities in China, you are scared to speak up."

Kanter's criticism centered particularly on the injustice felt by the Uyghur community -- the US State Department estimates that up to 2 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been detained in internment camps in Xinjiang since 2017. Uyghurs speak a Turkic language. Kanter’s family hails from Turkey.

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