Oklahoma City center Enes Kanter a vocal supporter of the Gülen movement and its leader Fethullah Gülen, has been disowned by his family.
Kanter’s father, Mehmet Kanter released a letter that featured this line:
“I apologize to the Turkish people and the president for having such a son.”
The Daily Sabah got in touch with Mehmet Kanter after reading the letter:
Following the release of the letter, Daily Sabah reached out to Mehmet Kanter, who told Daily Sabah that he has been quite disturbed by his son’s behavior and insulting tweets directed at President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an.
Stressing that he has been educating students for almost 30 years, Kanter said: “His statements and behavior trouble our family. I told Enes that we would disown him should he not change his course. He did not care.”
The elder Kanter said he has not been able to communicate with Enes since 2015. “I would not have taken Enes to the U.S. for the basketball camp where his talent was discovered had I known that it would come to this point,” he said.
Also speaking to Daily Sabah, Mehmet Kanter’s cousin Bilal Kanter said the Kanter family does not want Enes to bear the Kanter name. “We had warned him previously about his ties with the FETÖ. We have not been able to reach out to Enes for a long time,” he said, adding that the Gülenists controlled Enes for his wealth and reputation.
Enes Kanter released a statement today in his native language, but at the bottom it read Enes (Kanter) Gülen, his new name.
