Woke athletes, CEOs, and American companies must call out violence in the Middle East from "all sides," former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, now a U.S. activist, said Wednesday on Newsmax.
"It's so crazy to me," Kanter Freedom said on "Wake Up America." "I have been asking this question myself: Where's all these CEOs of companies, other organizations, especially all the athletes who called themselves more than an athlete?"
Social justice and human rights activism must expand for all the world, according to the Turkish American, who is Muslim and left basketball to be a global freedom advocate, earning his U.S. citizenship and adding "Freedom" to his last name in 2021.
"When it comes to America, they're the first one that goes out there and says, 'Oh, enough is enough: You've got to do something and blah, blah,'" Kanter Freedom said. "But when it comes to anywhere else, they're silent.
"You know, human is human: It doesn't matter in America or anywhere else. People are getting killed and raped and tortured. So we have got to speak up. Especially athletes. You have a huge platform."
Kanter Freedom said he plans to run for U.S. political office in 2028, when the seven years statute allows a new citizen to become a candidate.
"Many people are actually wanting me to get into politics – many of my friends – and they're like: 'What are you waiting for?'" he said. "So, yes, I am actually thinking about it. I think it's going to be in 2028."
Kanter Freedom is an outspoken critic of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, having fled that country, and he said Erdogan has complicity in Hamas' attack on Israel.
"Organizations like Hamas or ISIS or al-Qaida are getting huge support from the governments like Turkey," Kanter Freedom said. "Iran and Turkey are safe haven for groups like those Hamas and ISIS and many other groups, and they raised huge amount of money. Also, they get Turkish passports and travel in and out of other countries.
"We are talking about a NATO ally. So enough is enough. The world needs to wake up and see the destruction of Erdogan – not only in his country but the countries around them."
Kanter Freedom wants safety from violence everywhere in the world.
"As a Muslim, I strongly condemn the current attack against innocent civilians on Israel and both sides," he said. "I express my full solidarity with the victims, their families, and loved ones. As a Muslim, I cannot celebrate death on any sides, regardless of their religion, colors, ethnicity. The scenes coming from Middle East is heartbreaking. So, may God, Allah, help those innocent people on both sides."
One civilian death is as atrocious as many, according to Kanter Freedom.
"No matter what, you cannot justify the attack on civilians, and Islam clearly states that killing one innocent person is equal to killing many," he said. "No amount of destruction has ever resolved any decades of conflict.
"So, unfortunately, things are pretty sad, and we've got to do whatever we can to bring awareness and pray for those innocent people."
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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