Besides his legendary career and unmatched skills on the basketball court, Jordan became a worldwide sensation because of his sneakers. The Jordan culture transcends every frontier, with millions of people carving a pair.

Jordan has made more money out of his endorsement deals than during his days in the NBA. He’s one of the wealthiest athletes in the world and the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets franchise.

Enes Kanter Calls Out Michael Jordan, Says He Cares More About Selling Shoes Than The Black Community

Nonetheless, Boston Celtics big man Enes Kanter is far from a Jordan fan. According to the Turkish activist, Jordan only cares about selling his shoes and that’s why he’s never done anything for the black community:

“Not many people are talking about Michael Jordan,” Kanter said on CNN. “Michael Jordan hasn’t done anything, nothing, for the Black community in America besides just, you know, giving them money. I feel like we need to call out these athletes. At least LeBron James is going out there and being the voice of all those people who are oppressed in America. Michael Jordan has not done anything for the Black community because he cares too much about his shoe sales all over the world and America, and I feel like we need to call out these athletes and not be scared about who they are.”

Jordan once said that he didn’t want to get into politics because ‘Republicans buy shoes too,’ drawing plenty of criticism from black leaders back then. Nonetheless, he recently committed to a $100 million donation to the BLM movement.

Kanter Called Out LeBron James, James Says He Only Wants Clout

This isn’t the first time that Kanter calls out one of the biggest figures in the league. Last week, he blasted LeBron James on Twitter over his ties with Nike and his silence on child labor in China:

“Money over Morals for the “King.” Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice. They really do “shut up & dribble” when Big Boss (China) says so. Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research?” the Celtics big man tweeted.

James, who has had a couple of stand-offs on the court with Kanter, was unbothered by his comments and pretty much implied that he’s only using his name as a way to get more attention:

“I think if you know me, I don’t really give too many people my energy. And he’s definitely not someone I will give my energy to. Trying to use my name to create an opportunity for himself,” James said of Kanter. “He’s always kind of had a word or two to say in my direction, and as men, really, if you had an issue with somebody you’d really come up to them. And he had his opportunity tonight. I saw him in the hallway and he walked right by me.”

Kanter is perhaps the biggest activist in the NBA right now and he won’t hesitate to take shots at whoever he needs to make his voice be heard. Whether he’s right or wrong about James or Jordan, well… we’ll leave that up to you.

James has taken a stance for social justice causes and made a name for himself for being a big philanthropist. That’s why Donald Trump supporters often call him out for his silence on China’s child labor situation and protests.

The NBA experienced tense times when former Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey sent out a tweet supporting protesters in Hong Kong. The Chinese government threatened to kill the — very lucrative — NBA market out there and the league risked losing billions.

Enes Kanter Blasts LeBron James Over Ties With Nike

James, who’s Nike’s main athlete and whose shoes are made in China, was silent on the protests and only said that Morey wasn’t fully educated about the matter, sparking even more controversy.

Now, months later, Boston Celtics big man – and well-known LeBron hater – Enes Kanter made the most of the chance to call him out for those comments. Kanter showed his custom-made sneakers and took a big shot at James on social media:

“Money over Morals for the “King.” Sad & disgusting how these athletes pretend they care about social justice. They really do “shut up & dribble” when Big Boss (China) says so. Did you educate yourself about the slave labor that made your shoes or is that not part of your research?” Kanter wrote on a Tweet.

Kanter’s Been Calling The NBA Out For A While Now

This isn’t the first time that Kanter calls out the NBA. Earlierthis season, he called Commissioner Adam Silver a hypocrite, claiming that the league encourage players to take a stand, yet doesn’t actually support them:

“I remember it was our first game. It was at Madison Square Garden and I wore ‘Free Tibet’ shoes and went out there,” Kanter said in an interview. “I remember right before the game, there were two guys from the NBA came up to me and say, ‘You have to take your shoes off, we are begging you.”

“NBA made me do this,” claimedKanter. “Because every time when one of the NBA teams or the commissioner came out and speak, they encourage players to talk about whatever they want to talk about. We are giving freedom to our players to talk about all the injustices happening around the world, human rights abuse around the world, so they told me to do this, basically.”

“He told me, yes. We are supporting you against China. … I don’t know how much that is true. Because if they were really supporting me, they would’ve put something out there. They would have put some kind of statement,” he concluded.

Needless to say, this is going to give a lot to talk about over the next couple of days. Kanter’s activism has put him in the spotlight more often than not, so we’ll see if LeBron will respond or stay silent.

That has often put the league’s policy on social issues and its financial interests at odds. Players want to protest against child labor and the Chinese government but that could be a disaster for the league from a monetary standpoint.

That’s why Boston Celtics’ Enes Kanter recently called out league Commissioner Adam Silver for saying that he supports social justice causes even though he tried to stop him from protesting against China.

Enes Kanter Calls Out The NBA Over Their Stance On China

“I remember it was our first game. It was at Madison Square Garden and I wore ‘Free Tibet’ shoes and went out there,” Kanter told CNN. “I remember right before the game, there were two guys from the NBA came up to me and say, ‘You have to take your shoes off, we are begging you.”

“There’s 27 amendments and my first amendment is the greatest amendment – it’s the freedom of speech. I was like, ‘I know my rights, you cannot take my rights away from me. I don’t care if I get fined, I’m not going to take my shoes off.”

Kanter Says The NBA ‘Made’ Him An Activist

The Turkish big man — who’s also known for his stand-off against President Erdogan — said that the NBA made him do this, as Adam Silver is often encouraging players to talk about social injustice:

“NBA made me do this,” added Kanter. “Because every time when one of the NBA teams or the commissioner came out and speak, they encourage players to talk about whatever they want to talk about. We aregiving freedom to our players to talk about all the injustices happening around the world, human rights abuse around the world, so they told me to do this, basically.”

“He told me, yes. We are supporting you against China. … I don’t know how much that is true. Because if they were really supporting me, they would’ve put something out there. They would have put some kind of statement. I told Adam this too. Our team games, the Boston Celtics games are banned in China and this is unacceptable,” he concluded.

Whether players should or shouldn’t protest against the Chinese government is not for us to decide. But people should be able to stand up for what they believe in, even if it hurts the league’s pockets. They’ve got plenty of cash to spare anyway.

In the video Kanter went on to state that he supported the Tibetan people’s “cause for freedom” while calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator”. Kanter repeated the phrase “free Tibet” while wearing a shirt of the Dalai Lama.

The blowback was huge as the Chinese government ordered all Boston Celtics games to not be broadcast in the country. Here is what the Chinese government has done following Enes Kanter’s remarks.

Chinese government to censor Boston Celtics due to Enes Kanter comments

The Chinese video streaming giant Tencent has eliminated all Boston Celtics games from the schedule of highlights and live broadcasts. It is important to note that the Chinese government demands that foreign businesses align with the country’s political policies in order to have access to the vast market that is China.

This is not the first time there has been issues between the NBA and the Chinese government as in 2019 Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey had made comments supporting pro- democracy protesters in Hong Kong. At the moment the NBA nor the Celtics have issued a statement over the matter.

That’s why Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and several activists showed their disappointment in James’ silence regarding vaccination. According to them, The King had an obligation to speak up and encourage vaccination, being one of the faces of the NBA.

James faced some backlash regarding his decision not to engage in controversial debates, especially considering how vocal he had been on several issues in the past, including Donald Trump’s presidency.

LeBron James Didn’t Want To Say He Was Vaccinated

Several months ago, the Los Angeles Lakers star did say that he felt like people should take the vaccine. As for his status, he chose not to discuss it in public, most likely to avoid controversy:

“That’s a conversation my family and I will have,” he said in March. “I’ll keep that to a private thing.My recommendation, my strong recommendation, not just to our players, but based on all the information I have, is that people should get vaccinated. But I recognize that these are individual decisions. I haven’t been vaccinated yet, but I will, as soon as it is my turn.”

But after Kareem and some people called him out, it seems like James felt like he had to clear the air on his status and let the world know that he had, in fact, taken the COVID-19 vaccine at some point:

“After doing my research and things of that nature, I felt like it was best suited not only for me, but for my family and for my friends, and that’s why I decided to do it,” said James, as quoted by the New York Post.

Enes Kanter Says He’s Disappointed In LeBron James

Even so, that wasn’t enough to silence his critics. Boston Celtics big man Enes Kanter recently criticized him, saying that he was disappointed in his “ridiculous” comments about the vaccine being a personal choice:

“You know, when I heard it, I was very disappointed and it is ridiculous,” Kanter said, as quoted by Fadeaway World. “Obviously LeBron James, he’s one of the faces of the league. And he should be the first one to go out there and say, listen, everyone, I got the vaссine and I’m encouraging everyone, my community, everyone, basketball fans, non-basketball fans, all sport fans to go out, get this vaссine so we could save other lives. So when I heard that, I just can’t believe it. But I hope he could educate himself about this vaссination and encourage other people around him.”

Kanter is well-known for his work as an activist and he, like many others, believes that stars have a responsibility to encourage people to take the vaccine as a matter of public health. Whether you agree with that or not is for us to debate here, but his point is quite valid.