Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter is once again back in the United States after quite a hassle in Romania. Kanter also wants to call America his official home.
“Right now I am country-less,” Kanter said, according to ESPN. “I am open to adoption definitely. I am going to try to become an American citizen. I have a green card. We will see if they can speed up the process a little bit. It would definitely be nice. Right now my next move is becoming an American citizen.”
Kanter was stranded in Romania after the country of Turkey canceled his passport. Kanter claimed his passport from Turkey was rescinded as a result of his political beliefs, specifically his comments about Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Kanter called Erdogan “the Hitler of our century.”
Kanter also claims he received multiple death threats as recently as today, and he said there was the real possibility he would have had to return to Turkey, which would not have been likely to have a positive ending. From ESPN;
“It was of course scary,” Kanter said before letting out a long sigh. “It was scary because there was a chance they might send me back to Turkey. And if they send me back to Turkey, probably you guys wouldn’t hear a word from me the second day. It would have definitely gotten really ugly.”
Kanter eventually managed to make his way home by being allowed to travel to London, where he could catch a flight to New York. The trip was made possible once Homeland Security got involved along with lawyers from the Thunder, NBA, NBAPA, and senators from Oklahoma.
With so much attention focused on who may or may not enter the United States in recent months, Kanter hopes his story will open eyes around the world and lead to positive changes to help those in need of escaping nations like Turkey. Again, from ESPN;
“I hope the whole world is watching this and all the human rights [groups],” Kanter said. “I want people to do something about it because there are a lot of people waiting for help in jail in Turkey, getting kidnapped, murdered, tortured, raped.”
Kanter has to wait a little while before he can apply for citizenship in the United States. He received his green card last year and has to wait another three-and-a-half to four years before he will be eligible to apply for citizenship, unless anything with the process’s timeline is modified to allow for an earlier application.
[ESPN]
