China plans to ban future Boston Celtics NBA games from being live-streamed in their country. The decision comes following a controversial tweet from Celtics center Enes Kanter.
On Twitter, Kanter posted photos of custom shoes that had the phrase ‘Free Tibet.’ Tibet is a region currently under China’s control.
Kanter also posted a video in which he says, “Brutal dictator of China, Xi Jinping, I have a message for you and your henchmen. I will say it again and again and again, loud and clear. ‘Free Tibet.’ ‘Free Tibet.’ ‘Free Tibet.’”
This isn’t the first strain between the NBA-China relationship. In 2019, then Houston Rockets General Manager, Daryl Morey, tweeted in support of Hong Kong’s independence from China. China responded with a ban on live-streaming NBA games costing the organization millions.
This also isn’t the first time Kanter has been critical of a foreign leader. In 2017, the Turkish basketball player called Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the “Hitler of our country”.
