Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Enes Freedom is making headlines once more for the wrong reasons. But this time, it seems that the former NBA center is in grave danger as he recently revealed a few of the “hundreds” of death threats he has received in recent days.
One person messaged Freedom and claimed to have hired a serial killer to go after him.
The threats could be in relation to the bounty that the Turkish government has placed on his head.
While Freedom became an American citizen in late 2021, he was born in Switzerland and grew up in Turkey. His public criticisms of the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, started around a decade ago and led to major changes in his life.
His political views led to him being disowned by his family, having his passport cancelled and receiving an arrest warrant from Turkish authorities.
Fearing for his life, he sometimes opted not to leave American soil while still playing in the NBA. When he was a member of the New York Knicks in the 2018-19 campaign, the big man did not travel with the team to London for a regular season contest.
After joining the Portland Trail Blazers later in the season, he did not play in a road game versus the Toronto Raptors for the same reason.
Freedom’s activism has not just been limited to issues in Turkey. He has also been extremely critical of the NBA on various matters, including the league’s relationship with China.
For this reason, the 30-year-old claims to have been blackballed by the NBA and prevented from playing in the league again. The former No. 3 overall pick detailed his plans to sue the league in late 2022, but so far, it doesn’t seem like he has followed through on that proposition.
Freedom last played in the NBA in the 2021-22 season as a member of the Boston Celtics. Although he was sent to the Houston Rockets during that campaign, he did not suit up for them and was waived several days after the trade.
If he doesn’t suit up for another team again, Freedom will end his NBA career with averages of 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest.
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