Celtics games wiped from Chinese internet after player's 'Free Tibet' video

Enes Kanter shoes
(Image credit: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

A player for the Boston Celtics spoke out Wednesday in support of independence for Tibet while slamming Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "brutal dictator" — and the team's games have quickly been pulled from the Chinese internet.

After Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter on Wednesday released a video on social media slamming Xi Jinping and calling for China to "free Tibet," by Thursday the Celtics' recent games weren't available to stream in Chinese via the internet company Tencent, The New York Times reports. Tencent also cut a live broadcast of a game between the Celtics and the New York Knicks after the video was released, and Tencent's app suggested there wouldn't be live broadcasts of the team's upcoming games, The Washington Post reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.