Kanter calls Chinese leader Xi Jinping "brutal dictator", Celtics Games Are Pulled in China

Another social media post by Kanter on Wednesday showed off sneakers emblazoned with Tibetan flag motifs and the words “Free Tibet.”

Enes Kanter accused Chinese government for what it is doing in Tibet.

Dear Brutal Dictator XI JINPING and the Chinese Government

Tibet belongs to the Tibetan people!#FreeTibet pic.twitter.com/To4qWMXK56

— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 20, 2021

Per NY Times, Boston Celtics games were abruptly pulled from the Chinese internet on Thursday after a center on the team, Enes Kanter, said on social media that the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, was a “brutal dictator,” citing his government’s repressive policies in Tibet.

In a video that was posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on Wednesday, Kanter spoke into the camera for nearly three minutes and decried what he called a “cultural genocide” in Tibet.

“I say, ‘Shame on the Chinese government,’” he said, wearing a T-shirt with the image of the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing considers a criminal separatist. “The Chinese dictatorship is erasing Tibetan identity and culture.”

Another social media post by Kanter on Wednesday showed off sneakers emblazoned with Tibetan flag motifs and the words “Free Tibet.”