Turkey Canceled This NBA Player's Passport and Now He's Stranded in Romania

From Esquire

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan allegedly revoked the passport of Oklahoma City Thunder player Enes Kanter, who has been a vocal critic of the controversial leader. Kanter, who is a Turkish citizen and one of the country's most famous athletes, claimed he is stranded in Romania and is being detained by police after he learned his passport was no longer valid when he tried to leave the country.

In a video posted on Kanter's Twitter account, he says that two police officers have held him at the airport "for hours" because the Turkish embassy revoked his passport. "The reason behind it is, of course, my political views," Kanter told the camera. "You guys know [Erdogan] by, you know, he has attacked the people in Washington," he said, referring to members of Erdogan's security detail who attacked protesters at the Turkish ambassador's house in Washington, D.C. earlier this week.

Kanter also refused to back down from criticizing Erdogan, no matter the consequences. saying, "He is a bad, bad man; he is a dictator and he is the Hitler of our century," Kanter said. The New York Times reported that Kanter is also a well-known supporter Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is an enemy of Erdogan's.

"I will keep you posted guys, but just pray for us, and I'll tell you guys what's going on," Kanter concluded in the video.

Update (Sunday, May 21): On Sunday, Kanter tweeted a photo of himself from U.S. customs showing he successfully returned to the United States. He will hold a news conference on Monday to explain his ordeal, Kanter's agent told ESPN.

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