Enes Kanter safely back in America, still doesn’t like Golden State
The Oklahoma City Thunder center’s Monday morning press conference covered escaping in the middle of the night, never returning home and cheering for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Enes Kanter had quite the weekend as passport trouble with the Turkish government put an early end to his charitable international tour. After arriving back in the U.S. on Sunday, Kanter stopped by CBS This Morning early Monday to share his story. Luckily for NBA fans, the Oklahoma City Thunder center provided some levity in the form of fuel for the ever-burning Thunder-Warriors hate fire.
But first the facts. As Kanter put it, his story is actually even more insane than initially reported. The ordeal began when his manager woke him up around 2:30 a.m. in Indonesia. The Indonesian army was after him because the Turkish government had apparently told them Kanter was “a dangerous man.” From there, he “kind of escaped the country” to Singapore before arriving in Romania, which is where his story picked up international attention.
In Romania, Kanter learned that Turkey had canceled his passport, like the government had done to tens of thousands of other Turkish nationals living abroad. With the help of Homeland Security, the NBA, the NBPA and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kanter was able to get to London and finally back to the U.S.
The man who brought a love of Halal food to the Thunder has been an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Kanter feels targeted because he’s visible, but happily accepts the responsibility to be the “words for innocent people.”
He told CBS This Morning, “it’s tough, but I stand for what I believe.”
It’s heavy stuff, but the CBS team did offer Kanter a closing question he was delighted to answer: Who is going to win the NBA Finals?
And Kanter’s response was unequivocal:
“That’s a nice question! I don’t like Golden State, I’m cheering for Cleveland.”
And when Gayle King asked whether he knew Steph Curry was on Golden State:
“Yes, but we don’t like. All OKC Thunder don’t like Golden State.”
Next: Every NBA team's greatest playoff moment
Good for Kanter. Good for NBA pettiness. Good for having a healthy outlet for unfiltered animosity and frustration. What he’s going through is incredibly serious — he and his estranged family face death threats every day and it’s unclear when, if ever, he’ll be able to return to his home country — so a relatively meaningless release valve is essential. May Kanter stay safe and stay petty.