Boston Celtics Turkish center Enes Kanter will play the Toronto Raptors in Canada on Christmas Day, his first matchup outside the US in more than a year.
27-year-old Kanter has been critical of the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, writes the BBC.
In January 2019, Turkish prosecutors issued an international arrest warrant for Kanter, and the basketball player himself told the BBC that he is stuck in the US, reports Koha Ditore.
Before Wednesday's game, Kanter tweeted: "I'm free" and accompanied the message with a Canadian flag.
"I want to thank Canadian Prime Minister Justin Rudeau, the US and Canadian authorities, US Senator Ed Markey, the Boston Celtics, the NBA and my managers for working to make my Christmas game against Toronto possible and to see to my safety there. And, on Christmas Day, I will play my first game for the Boston Celtics outside of the United States when they face the Raptors in Toronto," Kanter wrote for the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper.
Kanter has not played outside the US since November 2018.
also
The Turkish basketball player does not travel to London for fear of being killed after criticizing Erdogan
While with the New York Knicks in January, Kanter did not travel to London for the game against the Washington Wizards out of fear for his safety, and he also missed the March game against Toronto while with the Portland Trailblazers.
Kanter's Turkish passport was revoked in 2017, which he said was due to his political views. He has a US green card....(Read more in Koha Ditore)
