Oklahoma City Thunder Player Enes Kanter Wants To Be A U.S. Citizen; Criticizes Turkish President Erdogan

Enes Kanter, the Oklahoma City Thunder star who was held at an airport in Romania over the weekend because his passport had reportedly been canceled by the Turkish government, recounted his experience over the past few days and said his goal is to become a United States citizen.

Kanter, a Turkish citizen, said he was held at an airport in Romania after his passport was canceled by the Turkish government. He was later able to get on to a flight to London and eventually the United States. Kanter is a U.S. green card holder.

In a media call with reporters, Kanter said he believed his passport was canceled because of his political views, according to a report in USA Today. Kanter is outspoken in his contempt for Turkish president Recep Tayip Erdogan and reiterated those comments on the call, saying Erdogan and the Turkish government have tried to silence anyone who has spoken out against them.

"I love Turkey, I love my country," Kanter said on the call, as reported by ESPN. "I am trying to speak up and be the voice of all these innocent people. Erdogan, he is a terrible man. Of course this is a strong statement, I [said] that he is the Hitler of our century. I know it is a really strong statement. But all these people I have seen getting killed and murdered and tortured, that is definitely one of the saddest moments I have had. I hope the world is going to do something about it."

Kanter also says he has received death threats for his words.

On Sunday, Erdogan extended a state of emergency imposed after the failed coup in Turkey last year, which was meant to be a temporary measure. As reported by the New York Times, the state of emergency allows Erdogan sweeping power in his rule.

The Times reports:

So far, the decrees have allowed Mr. Erdogan to jail more than 40,000 people accused of plotting a failed coup, fire or suspend more than 140,000 additional people, shut down about 1,500 civil groups, arrest at least 120 journalists and close more than 150 news media outlets.

Kanter also said on the call he was shocked that Erdogan was in the White House last week.

The basketball star was traveling for his foundation when he ended up being detained in Romania. As he recounted to reporters, he was in Indonesia when he was told authorities were looking for him because the Turkish government had said he was a "dangerous man." He then left the country and went to Singapore and then Romania, where he was held.

Kanter posted a video to his Twitter account, showing that he was being held in Romania. He was eventually allowed to leave the country and go to London.

At the time, in a statement to the New York Times, a spokesman for the Romanian Border Police said authorities determined Kanter's travel documents had been canceled by his home country and so he wasn't allowed to enter Romania.

“At around 5 p.m., he left the airport on a flight to London,” the statement said. “While he was at the airport he wasn’t detained or locked up, he was allowed to wander around, but he couldn’t enter the country.”

Kanter later posted on his Twitter account that he was back in the United States.

ESPN reports that Homeland Security, Oklahoma City Thunder lawyers, Kanter's own lawyers, the NBA and the NBAPA, and Oklahoma Senators Jim Inhofe and James Lankford were all part of an effort to get Kanter back to the United States.

Speaking about the United States, Kanter said he feels like the country is his home now.

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