You may see a different name on the back of Enes Kanter's jersey in the near future.
The Boston Celtics big man is changing his legal name to Enes Kanter Freedom, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Sunday. Kanter will be his middle name, while he'll change his last name to Freedom.
Kanter, who was born in Switzerland but grew up in Turkey and is a Turkish citizen, will become a United States citizen Monday, per Charania.
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The 29-year-old has been vocal in his criticism of Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for years. Kanter had his Turkish passport seized in 2017, and Turkey sought an international warrant for his arrest in 2019.
Kanter also has spoken out about social justice and human rights issues in the United States and overseas. He wore "Freedom" on the back of his Celtics jersey at the NBA bubble in August 2020 and recently called out Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James over his relationship with Nike amid allegations of the company using forced labor practices in China.
Kanter is averaging 4.2 points and 5.2 rebounds over 11.2 minutes per game for the Celtics after re-signing with the team last offseason on a one-year, $2.6 million contract.
