LeBron James said Friday that he won’t “give my energy to” recent criticism from Celtics center Enes Kanter, who has used social media to take aim at James’ relationship with Nike and the company's alleged forced labor practices in China. James spoke after Friday night’s 130-108 loss to the Celtics that dropped the Lakers under .500 on the season.
“I think if you know me you know I don’t really give too many people my energy and he’s definitely not someone I will give my energy to,” he said. “Trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself. Definitely won’t comment too much on that, if any. That will be where I lay that at.
“He’s always kind of had a word or two to say in my direction and as a man, if you got an issue with somebody, you really come up to him. He had his opportunity tonight. I seen him in the hallway, he walked right by me.”
Kanter, who has been outspoken on corruption related to the regime in his native Turkey, has spoken out in the past few months against Chinese president Xi Jinping, calling him a “brutal dictator” and advocating for a “Free Tibet.” Kanter criticized James and Nike for shoes that are allegedly produced by slave labor through Chinese companies, saying, in part, “Money over Morals for the 'King.' Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice.”
In response, the Chinese government stopped streaming Boston Celtics games.
In October, Kanter led a rally in front of Capitol Hill, calling on China to stop Uyghur forced labor and urging the U.S. Congress to pass “The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.”
The same month, Kanter offered to book plane tickets for him and Nike owner Phil Knight to visit China in a tweet, saying “We can try to visit these SLAVE labor camps and you can see it with your own eyes.” He offered for James and Jordan to come along too and shared photos of shoes reading “modern day slavery,” “made with slave labor,” “Hypocrite Nike” and “no more excuses.”
(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)
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