Boston Celtics big man Enes Kanter Freedom revealed a surprising message of support that he received from one of LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers teammates during an episode of “The Will Cain Podcast.”
Freedom has been vocal in his criticism of James and his partnership with Nike, but he claims that one of James’ teammates told him to keep speaking up.
Money over Morals for the “King” 👑
Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice
They really do “shut up & dribble” when Big Boss 🇨🇳 says so
Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research? pic.twitter.com/YUA8rGYeoZ
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) November 18, 2021
https://open.spotify.com/episode/69rvHFEjWutn9a7GtzgO0f?si=aa69faa324884e9f
“One of the teammates that LeBron had came up to me and said, ‘Dude, keep doing what you’re doing,’” Freedom said. “‘What you’re doing is right. Don’t give up.’
“I was very shocked. I thought he was gonna come at me like, ‘Dude stop talking.’ He’s going to try to defend LeBron, right? He’s like, ‘Dude, do not stop.
“You know, he said to me, in the free throw line, he said, ‘I have so much things that I want to say, but I cannot because these teams got us. If you want another contract, if you want more endorsement deals, if you want other companies to work with you, you have to keep your mouth shut. You cannot criticize the league, the companies, Nike or whoever.’”
Freedom revealed that he was happy the player spoke out to him, but he wishes more players would join his stance.
“I was very happy that he said it, but same time, I’m like, ‘Dude, come on man,’” Freedom said. “There’s not one player that wanna join. That made me really sad.”
It’s interesting that Freedom has targeted just James in his criticism when so many other players are partners with the Nike brand, but he may have a little more support across the league than it seems.
This season, Freedom is averaging 4.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Celtics.
