Enes Kanter Freedom: from the NBA to activism
Kemi Filani News profiled Enes Kanter Freedom, born Enes Kanter on 20 May 1992 in Zurich, Switzerland. The profile describes him as a Turkish former professional basketball centre and human rights activist. It says he spent parts of eleven NBA seasons with the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics, returning to Portland afterwards. The profile puts his estimated net worth at around $40 million.
According to the profile, his parents came from Turkey and his father, Mehmet, studied medicine at the University of Zurich. The family later returned to Van, where Kanter grew up. At 17 he moved to the United States to play basketball, attending schools in Nevada, West Virginia and California. The profile says he was barred from high school play in some of them because he had already played professionally.
The profile says Kanter has openly criticised Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It says Turkey cancelled his passport and issued an arrest warrant on 26 May 2017, and that on 19 January 2023 the government placed him on a terrorist list with a $500,600 bounty. Kanter responded: "The only thing I terrorize is the basketball rim." He became an American citizen and legally changed his name on 29 November 2021. The profile also says he claims he was dropped from Turkey's EuroBasket 2015 squad over his links to the Gülen movement, while coach Ergin Ataman gave a different reason. Kanter's fears about returning to Turkey are his own belief, as reported by the profile.
Away from the court, the profile notes his WWE appearance at Madison Square Garden on 9 September 2019, free basketball camps in the United States, and a December 2023 announcement of plans for basketball schools where Christians, Muslims and Jews would play together.
Gord Downie: the Tragically Hip frontman
Another profile covers Gordon Edgar Downie, the Canadian singer-songwriter, writer, poet and activist, born on 6 February 1964 in Amherstview, Ontario. He died on 17 October 2017 in Toronto, aged 53, of glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. Per the profile, his diagnosis was found in December 2015 and announced by the Tragically Hip on 24 May 2016. His estimated net worth is given as between $10 million and $20 million, built on record sales, stadium tours and royalties.
The profile says his album Introduce Yerself became his first number one shortly after his death. It adds that his family and managers have stated there are plans for more releases, including solo work and unreleased material with the band. He was married to Laura Leigh Usher and they had four children; they had separated in 2015 but remained close friends and were not divorced when he died.
