House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced Monday that he invited former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom to the State of the Union. He touted the former basketball player as “a man who stood up for freedom.”
“In light of everything, with what’s happening in China, here’s a man who stood up for freedom,” McCarthy said. “[He] lost his right to continue to play basketball, but he continues to fight for freedom.”
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Freedom, an outspoken critic of the alleged human rights violations in China and Turkey, said he accepted the speaker’s invitation and would be attending the event Tuesday night.
Freedom, who was born Enes Kanter, was catapulted into the national spotlight in 2021 for his unabashed criticism of the Chinese Communist Party. He donned graphic shoes rebuking the CCP’s treatment of Uyghur minorities, Tibetans, and more. Prior to his meteoric rise to prominence, he was outspoken about Turkey. He was raised there before immigrating to the United States. He added “Freedom” to his last name when he legally became a U.S. citizen.
He has since advocated liberty on an international stage and has been blasted by global leaders for speaking out about human rights violations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan placed a $500,000 bounty on Freedom’s head.
The former sports star has attended multiple meetings where he discussed human rights violations with conservative leaders on Capitol Hill in the past. Freedom previously told the Washington Examiner that he wanted to be a voice for other communities.
“I came here to learn about different religions, different backgrounds, different communities. It gives me so much hope and motivation to keep fighting when I see that I’m not alone in this,” Freedom said after an advocacy event for international religious freedom.
“At our basketball camps, we invite everybody, so I really want to learn about the struggles that others are having so I can be their voice,” he added.
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Freedom has been working with basketball camps organized by his Freedom For All foundation since leaving the NBA last year after he was traded and then waived. Those camps feature children of all religions playing on the same team and learning “how to communicate with each other.”
