NBA veteran Enes Kanter Freedom has been confirmed to speak at the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference later this month, according to CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp.
"CONFIRMED: @EnesFreedom," Schlapp wrote in a tweet Monday, along with a picture of the Boston Celtics center who has been in the NBA for 11 years.
Kanter Freedom has made headlines off the sports pages in recent months for his criticism of the Chinese government and for the leadership in Turkey, where he grew up, reports The Hill.
Last year, China's government yanked a Celtics game telecast and highlights from the air after the basketball player posted a video in which he called Chinese President Xi Jinping a "brutal dictator" and insisted that Tibet "belongs to the Tibetan people."
Kanter Freedom has also called out fellow athletes because of their silence on China and other human rights issues. He criticized Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James for not speaking out over how his endorsement partner, Nike, profits from sneakers that are made in China.
He has also spoken out against NBA player Jeremy Lin, basketball's legendary Michael Jordan, and Golden State Warriors investor Chamath Palihapitiya about China.
The next CPAC event is scheduled for Feb. 24-17 in Orlando and will feature several conservative politicians and headliners as speakers, mainly former President Donald Trump.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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