In Summary
The Boston Celtics player released a viral Instagram post on Tuesday detailing grueling labor activities in China that he believes were brought on by Nike.Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter tagged LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Nike co-founder Phil Knight to “visit these slave labor camps” in China in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
In the Instagram post, Kanter said to James and Jordan: “You guys are welcome to come too.”
The post was one of many on social media to draw attention to various injustices in China. Kanter’s post falls on the heels of wearing customized shoes with the words “Modern Day Slavery” and “No More Excuses” written on them during a game against the Charlotte Hornets, the Jordan-owned franchise.
In the post, he used hashtags #HypocriteNike and #EndUyghurForcedLabor.
“Nike remains vocal about injustice here in America, but when it comes to China, Nike remains silent,” Kanter said. “You do not address police brutality in China, you do not speak about discrimination against the LGBTQ community, you do not say a word about the oppression of minorities in China, you are scared to speak up.”
According to a post by CNN, the US State Department estimates up to 2 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities have been detained in internment camps in Xinjiang since 2017.
“Millions of Uyghurs are currently detained, sold and assigned to work at forced labor camps, prisons and factories across the country,” Kanter said. “They are under constant surveillance, with long working hours and poor living conditions. Don’t forget, every time you put those shoes on your feet, or you put that T-shirt on your back, there are so many tears and so much oppression and so much blood behind it all.”