Enes Kanter is a Turkish-born NBA player and over the last few years, he has been a large denouncer of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This has caused Kanter to fear assassination while also keeping him from ever returning to his home country. While these issues have been put on the back burner as of late, they resurfaced on Thursday just a day after the Trail Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets 97-90 at home. Kanter scored 15 points for the Blazers although he caused a late-game scuffle that saw both benches clear.
Nuggets fans chirped Kanter, with one spectator yelling "Go back to Turkey, oh wait you can't!"
In addition to the hecklers, the official NBA Turkey twitter account refused to acknowledge him in their post-game tweet which highlighted the best players from the game.
Yesterday, the National Basketball Players Association released a statement supporting Kanter and his beliefs, saying it is important that he is speaking up for what he feels is right.
"The National Basketball Players Association fully supports our players using their platforms to stand up for their beliefs and the principles they support. We stand with Enes and, as with all of our players, will work to ensure that he is treated fairly and with respect."
According to ESPN, the league has terminated its relationship with those running the NBA Turkey Twitter account.