Boston Celtic Changes Name to Freedom, calls becoming U.S. citizen ‘unforgettable’

 

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At the end of 2021, Kyle Hightower for the Associated Press reported that a National Basketball Association Boston Celtics player changed his name from Enes Kanter to Enes Kanter Freedom in celebration of him officially becoming a United States citizen. He told AP that taking the citizenship oath was “maybe the most unforgettable moment that I had in my life.” An immigrant from Turkey, he has been an outspoken critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish government.

NPR recently interviewed Freedom about why he changed his name and his support for a boycott of the Olympics in China.

KJ