Enes Kanter is now using his platform to call out Nike, telling them to “stop the modern day slavery” regarding the forced labor of Uyghurs:
Dear @Nike
Stop the modern day SLAVERY, now!!!#HypocriteNike#EndUyghurForcedLabor pic.twitter.com/tvX2k3wE4X
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 25, 2021
Kanter starts out by noting all the injustice that Nike opposes here in the states, but then points out the huge injustices they ignore in China because it makes them rich:
“Who makes yours shoes in China? Do you even know? There are so many forced labor factories in China. For instance, Uyghurs forced labor, a modern day slavery. And it is happening right now in China. Millions of Uyghurs are currently detained, sold and assigned to work in forced labor camps, prisons and factories across the country.”
Did you know that almost the entire apparel and footwear industry is tainted by Uyghur forced labor? Many well known global brands are implicated, and yes, that includes one of the NBA’s biggest sponsors, Nike.
Nike claims that they do not allow any forced labor in their supply chains. Yet they don’t have the receipt to prove it! They have not publicly committed to cutting ties with the Chinese government labor transfer scheme. They have not provided clear timelines or updates about their efforts to end this. They have not publicly committed to steps outline by the coalition to end Uyghur forced labor.
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.
Nike likes to say, ‘just do it’. Well, what are you doing about the slave labor that makes your shoes? That slave labor that makes you rich?
To the owner of Nike, Phil Knight, I have a message for you. How about I book a plane ticket for us. Let’s fly to China together. We can try to visit these slave labor camps and you can see with your own eyes.
Stop with hypocrisy. Stop with modern day slavery, now.
Well said.
Kanter ain’t scared, and he’s living Nike’s motto for Kaepernick better than he ever did: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”