The Turkish-born NBA pro Enes Kanter gets by his own admission every day hundreds of death threats. "Over the last few days, I've received more death threats than ever before, hundreds of messages every day," New York Knicks basketball player told Bild am Sonntag.
The 26-year-old is harsh critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a supporter of the Gülen movement. Erdogan blames Fethullah Gülen, also in the US, for the coup attempt in August 2016.
Kanter never goes out on the street alone, but the US is the only place in the world where he still feels safe. A few days ago, he had not traveled with his team to London for a game. He feared he might be killed outside of North America for criticizing the Turkish president.
Since 2017, the basketball player, who was born in Zurich in 1992 as the son of Turkish parents, is stateless after withdrawing his Turkish nationality. Recently, there were also media reports that the Turkish prosecutor's office had requested the extradition of the NBA stars.
Kanter began his professional career with Turkish club Fenerbahçe. In 2011, he made the leap to the best basketball league in the world. After stations at Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder, he now plays for the New York Knicks.