Turkey's Enes Kanter subjected to death threats for political views
Turkish big man Enes Kanter has been subjected to death threats on Twitter for his political views. (Getty Images)
 Following the failed military coup in his home country, Turkish big man Enes Kanter received a series of death threats for his outspoken opposition to president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in recent years.
The Oklahoma City Thunder forward posted screenshots of several threats in a series of posts on Twitter, including imagery of deadly weapons and nooses, alongside the phrases, âYou will die soon,â and, âYouâll be executed,â according to Sportando. In response, Kanter explained in a Turkish statement translated by The Oklahoman, âDeath threats continue to fall. Prayer does not stand still.â
Son bir kaç gĂźndĂźr aldÄąÄÄąm sadece bazÄą ĂlĂźm Tehditleri.! Allah hepinizi Äąslah eylesin. pic.twitter.com/a0mnYaEQGA
â Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) July 17, 2016
2) ĂlĂźm Tehditleri yaÄmaya devam ediyor. Durmak yok Duaya devam Allah hepinizi Äąslah eylesin. pic.twitter.com/aBfP0BiKf5
â Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) July 18, 2016
3) ĂlĂźm Tehditleri devam ediyor. Sizden korkan sizin gibi olsun. Allah hepinizi Äąslah eylesin. pic.twitter.com/fcFYw945De
â Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) July 19, 2016
Last summer, Kanter claimed he was left off the roster for Turkeyâs national basketball team at EuroBasket 2015 because of âthe values I believe in and my political stance,â which includes support of exiled Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulenâs movement promoting an inclusive Islamic faith.
On Saturday, Erdogan publicly accused Gulen of igniting the failed military coup attempt and called on the United States to extradite the 75-year-old from his adopted home in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Gulen denied the Turkish presidentâs allegations and accused his government of harassing people âin a similar fashion to Hitlerâs SS forces.â On Twitter, Kanter continued to pledge his support for Gulen.
Sans Kanter, Turkeyâs national team failed to punch its ticket to Rio after losing to France in the semifinals of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in the Philippines earlier this month.
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Kanter is not the first NBA player to find himself in unfortunate headlines after the failed coup, as Brooklyn Nets wing Bojan Bogdanovic reportedly escaped by boat from a vacation destination near where Erdoganâs hotel was allegedly targeted by a bombing attempt on Turkeyâs Aegean coast.
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Donât Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach














