Enes Kanter Becomes U.S. Citizen, Legally Changes Name To Enes Kanter Freedom
BOSTON (CBS) -- Celtics center Enes Kanter is now officially a U.S. citizen. But he is no longer Enes Kanter.
The Boston big man was sworn in during a ceremony on Monday, and has legally changed his name to "Enes Kanter Freedom." Kanter will now become his middle name, with Freedom his new legal last name.
He even made it official on his Twitter account, changing his handle to @EnesFreedom. So don't be alarmed if you soon hear Mike Gorman say, "And he's rejected at the rim by Freedom!" during a Celtics broadcast.
Kanter, 29, has been a vocal advocate for human rights throughout his 11-year NBA career, especially in his native Turkey. Most recently, Kanter has spoken out against human rights abuses in China, which led to a ban on Celtics games being streamed in the country. He also took aim at superstar LeBron James for his relationship with Nike and China ahead of Boston's win over the Los Angeles Lakers a few weeks ago.
In addition to using his social media accounts, Kanter has also been wearing special sneakers to get his messages across.
The center formerly known as Kanter is in his second stint with the Celtics this season. He has played sparingly, appearing in just 10 of Boston's 21 games, averaging 4.7 points and 5.7 rebounds over 12.3 minutes of action. He saw the floor for 22 minutes in Sunday's win over the Raptors in Toronto -- a season-high for Kanter -- and chipped in with nine points and 10 rebounds.
