On the night of October 26, 2021, Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter took to social media to express his disapproval of Nike’s manufacturing process. In his posts, he proceeded to invite the co-founder of Nike, Phil Knight, to visit the slave labor camps in China that are responsible for making millions of Nike products.
During a game, Kanter was photographed wearing his own basketball shoes with the words “Modern Day Slavery” and “No More Excuses” written on them, with what is supposed to be blood spattered around them. Many individuals in the sports world were shocked to see Kanter make such a statement against a sports powerhouse, but he is no stranger to controversy.
In recent years, numerous individuals have brought attention to Xinjiang internment camps in China, targeting the Uyghur Muslim population in the country. Many are comparing these events to those of the Holocaust in the 1930s and ’40s, where individuals are forced into labor and eventually killed for their religious beliefs. Companies like Nike have continually been called out for using slave labor in countries around the world. Enes Kanter, however, would likely be the first major athlete to call out the brand.
Kanter’s tweet even came for NBA legends LeBron James and Michael Jordan, who both have deals and produce shoes with Nike. Kanter invited both of them to join Knight and himself on their trip to China to see where their shoes are being produced.
According to Sports Illustrated, a Nike statement from earlier this year said that they do “not source products from the [Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region] and we have confirmed with our contract suppliers that they are not using textiles or spun yarn from the region.”
Kanter’s opposition to major brands like Nike using slave labor could help fight for human right’s and against injustice not just in the United States, but around the world.
Leave a Reply