Celtics games banned in China after Boston’s Enes Kanter criticism of Tibet policies

Fans of the Boston Celtics in China might not be able to see their favorite team for a while due to the comments of one of the franchise’s more outspoken players, according to ESPN News services. That player would be veteran center Enes Kanter, who tweeted a video of himself criticizing the Chinese government ahead of Boston’s season opener against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

Per ESPN, Chinese state media pulled Celtics games indefinitely as a result of the video, which featured Kanter calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator” while saying “I’m here to add my voice and speak out about what is happening in Tibet. Under the Chinese government’s brutal rule, Tibetan people’s basic rights and freedoms are nonexistent.”

During the game, Kanter could be seen wearing a shirt with an image of the Dalai Lama (Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader) along with shoes designed by a dissident Chinese artist Badiucao.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin later responded by saying that the Celtics center was “trying to get attention” and that his comments “were not worth refuting.”

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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