I’ll do this quickly because there’s so much paper and time to spend with Enes Freedom, a court-ruled pony who’s learned a new trick to stay relevant. He made headlines again this week, scoring 42 points and 24 points. It’s impossible because he’s not on the NBA team because the Houston Rockets gave him up because his skill set is classic, his defense is non-existent and he laments the timing. compete instead of trying to correct those deficiencies.
Now, he’s just whining about being blackballed because he’s discovered a section of the media loves a guy willing to call on the NBA to have woken up to its ties to China and has always welcomed the move. exploited to continue political programs.
“It didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize why I had so little playtime and was released,” he told the New York Times via text. “But people of conscience need to speak up and say it’s not true.”
In addition to believing he is some weird Colin Kaepernick, he also said the league, players’ union and the Boston Celtics have asked him to keep quiet about China. He has spoken out about the alleged abuse of Uighur Muslims at the hands of the Chinese, and that is commendable.
Standing in front of your employer and Big Footwear is a difficult thing to do and something that is not so common with the NBA. However, Daryl Morey has competed in China, and he is still in the league. Part of that is because the current GM 76ers have shied away from additional criticism; The more important part of it is that he does his job well.
There is no owner or union-wide movement to silence Freedom’s speech. The federation also won’t start an anti-China campaign because it’s not good for business. However, Adam Silver, Brad Stevens and the players’ union were all quoted in the NYT news feed as saying they never told Freedom to shut up and sit quietly on the bench. In fact, several times throughout the article, writer Sopan Deb said that Freedom declined to say who told him what or to give specifics and clarifications about the conversations.
People might have informed Freedom that he would be a pariah if all he did was call people on Twitter and talk to anyone who would give him airtime, but the NBA allows and almost encourages its players to speak out about social issues. They had the catchphrases on the back of their bubble jerseys, not the small, low-key NFL saying “Say No to Racism” on the back lines.
Kaepernick is one of the most important players in football and took a team to the Super Bowl to do just that. Freedom is no longer valid in the NBA. The centers are usable, and even a guy who won Defensive Player of the Year could be out after the season. A low scorer who doesn’t really stretch the ring and never plays defensively is just as helpful as owning a Zune only if your Zune has been explicitly complained about unused and genocide.
You can be outspoken and be an important player in the NBA. George Hill still plays for Milwaukee, and the only reason it’s surprising is because – like Freedom – we’re not sure he’s any good anymore. The freedom to say his political views are why he’s glued to the bench is bullshit. If he doesn’t want his career to end at 29, try TB12 or go vegan or improve his range, something that gives your coach a reason to play you.
You know who doesn’t want to hear about minutes from the eighth or ninth guy on the team? Every damn NBA coach. And no one wants a member of their bench crowd to appear on Tucker Carlson and say that critics of America “should just shut up and stop criticizing the greatest nation in the world”.
I know he’s new to this whole thing being an American, but one of the main reasons we have free speech is so we can do exactly that and keep (or At least try to hold) our lords accountable. Also, less than six months ago Freedom told everyone to stop talking, and now he’s crazy about supposedly stopping talking. YES…
If he wants to make it clear why the leagues should really see who they do business with, invite Chelsea and the EPL and the upheaval that is happening because a Russian tycoon owns a team. Clearly, capitalism comes in second only when human rights violations are over-verified and videotaped to ignore.
Damn, I’ve said too much already. Perhaps now that Freedom could focus his full attention on the movement he would be better off – but I’m not going to hold my breath.
