Enes Kanter Freedom Was Blackballed By The NBA For Defending Liberty, Colin Kaepenrick Is Out Of The NFL For Hating America

The tale of two athletic careers ending: Enes Kanter Freedom vs. Colin Kaepernick.

Kanter Freedom is back in the news after calling out LeBron James for his lack of morals, values, principles, empathy and silence on China following the Lakers star becoming the league's all-time leading scorer.

Given how China's tentacles continue to grow and seep into American culture - or outright attempt to control it when it comes to Hollywood and TikTok - it seems to be a great time to compare the two most famous examples of people being losing their jobs in American sports.

Enes Kanter Freedom's inability to get a job in the NBA compared to Colin Kaepernick's lack of a roster spot in the NFL.

One can't get a job because they stood for freedom. The other can't get a job because he spits in the face of America.

Enes Kanter Freedom stood up against China, and it cost him millions

The NBA is notorious for bowing to China. The league won't have a morning bowel movement before calling the CCP to ask for permission.

It's nothing short of embarrassing and disgusting. An American sports league beloved by millions of people seemingly cares more about the opinions coming out of Beijing over what the good people in the USA think.

For example, former Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey, who is currently the 76ers' president of basketball operations, was thrown under the bus after he supported freedom for people in Hong Kong.

LeBron James targeted him and free speech, the league attempted to run damage control and Morey was painted as a villain. Yes, a man who stood for freedom was painted as the bad guy. Oh, how times have changed in America. There used to be a time - think the Cold War era - where running cover for a communist regime was unthinkable. Imagine an American athlete attempting to excuse the actions of the Soviet Union ahead of the Miracle on Ice game?

In a shining example of what bravery truly looks like, Enes Kanter Freedom took a stand against China. Specifically, he called out China's horrific and downright evil treatment of the Uyghurs, which are an ethnic minority group in China.

The CCP runs modern day internment camps that include abuse and women who are "systematically raped."

The former Boston Celtics center wore anti-CCP shoes and regularly shared content supporting the struggle of the Uyghur people.

Enes paid the price

In his final season in the NBA, Kanter Freedom averaged a career low 11.7 minutes a game. The year prior, he averaged 24.4 minutes, 11.2 points per game and 11 rebounds a game in Portland. Once he started speaking out against China, his minutes declined and he was ultimately traded to the Rockets. He was immediately cut, and he never played another second in the NBA. It's very unlikely he ever will again. Teams are terrified of upsetting the communist dictatorship in Beijing.

There's no doubt Enes Kanter Freedom could be a backup center in the NBA. Are his days as a starter over? Yes, but there's no doubt he's among the best 300 players in the world, and has the talent to be on a roster.

Yet, he committed the one unforgivable crime in the NBA: He went against China, and that simply won't be tolerated. Where are the parades for him being a hero? Where are the huge Nike deals? Does anyone in the media other than those at OutKick care that Enes Kanter Freedom gave up everything because he spoke out to defend the oppressed?

The unfortunate answer is no. In fact, the situation with Enes Kanter Freedom is so dire that he regularly faces death threats from the Turkish dictatorship, which he also speaks out against. He's literally putting his life on the line.

How does Colin Kaepernick compare?

Meanwhile, Colin Kaepernick is also out of the sport that made him rich but the reasons couldn't be more different. Kaepernick isn't out of the NFL because he spoke out against a dictatorship or put everything on the line.

Let's take a walk down memory. The media has done an incredible job at rehabbing Colin Kaepernick's image. You'd almost think he was a hero from the image painted by those worshipping him, but the facts are the facts.

Colin Kaepernick isn't a hero. He attacked the very fabric of America, and it ultimately cost him a spot in the NFL. Don't kid yourself. Kaep could have been a backup in the league back in 2017 or 2018. A starter? No. On a roster? Yes, but he wasn't worth the headache for reasons that couldn't be more different from Enes Kanter Freedom.

Kaepernick isn't a hero.

When Kaepernick refused to stand for the anthem while on the 49ers back in 2016, he made it clear it was because he thought America was a terrible place.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder," Kaepernick said back in 2016 when he refused to stand for the anthem.

The media later spun it that it was never about the flag. Wrong. In his own words, it was always about America's beautiful flag. A flag good men have died wearing on their uniforms they fought in to defend freedom.

It only gets worse from there. Kaepernick wore socks depicting cops as pigs, compared cops to slave catchers and sung the praises of murderous dictator Fidel Castro.

"One thing that Fidel Castro did do is they have the highest literacy rate because they invest more in their education system than they do in their prison system, which we do not do here, even though we’re fully capable of doing that ... We do break up families here. That’s what mass incarceration is. That was the foundation of slavery, so our country has been based on that as well as the genocide of Native Americans," Kaepernick said while praise the genocidal Castro regime in Cuba, according to Bleacher Report.

He later attempted to walk back the comments, but the damage was done. Kaepernick would rather praise a communist dictatorship than support America.

Again, imagine an American athlete praising the U.S.S.R. in 1980 or the 1960s? Your brain probably can't even compute something so insane.

Colin Kaepernick got rich. Enes Kanter Freedom didn't.

Was Kaepernick truly punished by society for his anti-American and highly-inaccurate rhetoric? The answer is no.

He was actually rewarded. Colin Kaepernick got MUCH richer because of the anti-American messages he spewed. Nike rewarded him with a lucrative contract to star in ads for the apparel company, Netflix gave him a deal that allowed him to compare the privilege of playing in the NFL to being a slave and he's even a producer on the Hulu series "Killing Country."

Refusing to stand for the anthem enriched Colin Kaepernick in a way being an NFL backup wouldn't. Meanwhile, Enes Kanter Freedom got nothing for standing up for liberty and the oppressed.

The media will try to tell you Colin Kaeperick is a hero while ignoring Enes. However, the facts are still the facts. One took a stand for freedom and lost his career. The other decided to spew hate towards this country and was immediately rewarded and painted a hero.

Every morning, Enes Kanter Freedom has to wonder if today will be the day he's murdered for his stances. Colin Kaepernick just has to worry if the Nike check has cleared yet. They are not the same.

Written by
David Hookstead is a reporter for OutKick covering a variety of topics with a focus on football and culture. He also hosts of the podcast American Joyride that is accessible on Outkick where he interviews American heroes and outlines their unique stories. Before joining OutKick, Hookstead worked for the Daily Caller for seven years covering similar topics. Hookstead is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.