Enes Kanter slams Lebron James on China slave labour issue; Lakers star responds; See post

Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter on Thursday took another swipe at Los Angeles Lakers superstar Lebron James for choosing "money" over "morals" and continuing his relationship with Nike despite the company's alleged use of slave labour in China to produce its goods. Kanter turned to his official Twitter handle, where he slammed James for "pretending to care" about matters concerning social justice, particularly the alleged slave labour situation in China. Kanter accused James of not speaking up against the human rights violations in China, adding "They really do shut up and dribble when the Big Boss (China) says so."

In addition to the criticism, Kanter's tweet also included a couple of pictures of some sneakers with messages targeting Lebron James, Nike, and China. One of the shoes showed James being crowned by Chinese President Xi Jinping and another with a message that read, "Hey still researching and getting educated?". Kanter is expected to wear those shoes at his upcoming matches. Kanter's post came a day before the NBA match between Lakers and Celtics was scheduled to be held. 

Lebron James responds

James, on the other hand, hit back at Kanter saying that he is not going to waste his energy on someone trying to use his name to create a name for himself. James said that as a man he expects Kanter to come up to him and discuss the issue face-to-face rather than directing words every now and then. James revealed that Kanter had the opportunity to talk to him about the issue Friday night when the Lakers locked horns against the Celtics at TD Garden in Boston. James said he saw Kanter in the hallway but the Turkish-American just walked right by him without speaking a word. 

Kanter, who is a vocal critic of China and its President Xi Jinping, has been throwing words at Lebron James and Nike for the past couple of months over their financial relationship with the country. Previously, Kanter had urged Nike owner Phil Knight and Lebron James to travel with him to China to see the labour camps, where he alleges the shoes are being manufactured under inhumane conditions. Kanter claims that he is concerned about the human rights issues in China, particularly those concerning the Muslim minority group called the Uyghurs, who trace their origin back to Turkey. 

Image: AP