Josh Horwitz

SHANGHAI (Reuters). -Enes Kanter, a Boston Celtics centre, was vilified by Chinese social media. After he criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping’s treatment Tibet and China’s treatment thereof his name was apparently blocked from the Weibo messaging platform (NASDAQ:).

Kanter is known for his activism against Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoan. Kanter tweeted a video in two minutes of him expressing support to Tibet. The T-shirt featured the Dalai Lama image.

“I’m there to voice my opinion and add my voice about Tibet. Kanter stated that the Chinese government has brutally ruled over Tibetans. He also posted text describing Xi “brutal dictator” in the Wednesday video.

Kanter shared similar messages via his Instagram account. He wore sneakers with “Free Tibet” printed on them during Wednesday’s game against New York Knicks. These shoes were made by Baidiucao (a dissident Chinese cartoonist and artist who is based in Australia).

China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd didn’t show highlights from Wednesday’s overtime loss by the Celtics to the New York Knicks via its sports platform. The game’s written timetable was also available.

Celtics games were pulled from the Chinese internet, the New York Times reported https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/21/sports/basketball/celtics-kanter-china-tibet.html.

Tencent has not yet responded to my request for comment.

Wang Wenbin (spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry) said on Thursday at a press conference that Kanter was trying to draw attention and his remarks were “not worth refuting”.

He said, “We will not accept those attacks to denigrate Tibet’s progress and development.”

Kanter’s comments and backlash come just two years after Daryl Morey, then general manager of Houston Rockets, made statements in support for the democracy movement under Chinese rule in Hong Kong. This prompted CCTV state broadcaster to stop broadcasting NBA games, as well as e-commerce vendors to take down Rockets merchandise listings.

This tweet was also sent after the Wednesday arrival in Beijing of the Olympic torch. Beijing’s scheduled host of the Winter Games 2022 in February 2022 has provoked calls to boycott Chinese treatment of Tibet and Uyghur Muslims.

Kanter’s Chinese language surname and complete name returned only one result as of Thursday, which is a significant difference from the multiple search results that were available earlier in this morning.

Weibo declined to comment on a request. An emailed inquiry for comments from the NBA China was not answered by a spokesperson. In the same vein, the Boston Celtics were not able to respond to comment requests.

Since 1951, Beijing has controlled Tibet’s remote west region. It took over control after the People’s Liberation Army entered and took power in what they call a “peaceful Liberation”. They consider the Dalai Lama to be a separatist.

An over 650,000-strong Weibo fanpage for the Boston Celtics wrote to say that after Kanter’s tweets, it would no longer update its social media feed.

China blocks Twitter (NYSE:).

Weibo won’t allow any team information to be displayed. We will resolutely reject any behavior that threatens harmony in the country and dignity of our motherland. According to the administrator,

Over 100 people posted comments Thursday on the Celtics Weibo Page, criticizing Kanter and the club. Others called for Kanter to be fired.

“I am an old Celtics fan. I have done so for over 10 years. Kanter’s actions made me stop supporting the Celtics for a day. One commentator said that there is no comparison between my hobby and my country.

Kanter (29), a vocal critic of Erdogan’s leadership, was indicted by his country on 2018 charges that he belonged to an armed terrorist organization. He denies the allegations. Turkey has revoked Kanter’s passport and is now seeking his extradition.

Additional reporting from Gabriel Crossley, Brenda Goh and Amy Tennery in Beijing and New York. Editing by Tony Munroe.