Enes Kanter ordeal teaches important life lesson

The constant smile and good-natured demeanor of Enes Kanter hide the very real pain he suffers due to the dissociation from his family and country.

As a member of the OKC Thunder Enes Kanter is universally considered a member of a unique and privileged few. After all, no more than 450 active players belong to the NBA at any given time. With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, that number will increase potentially to 510 next season. This due to the introduction of two, 2-way D-League contracted additions per team.

In Kanter’s case, he is among and an even smaller faction as an international player or 25.2 percent of the League. Granted, becoming a member of the Association requires a skill set few have, either due to genetics or talent barriers.

Harrowing experience:

In Kanter’s case, he is fully aware of how privileged he is. A point that was driven home over this past weekend while Kanter was traveling abroad to promote his charity and run basketball clinics for children.

"It is crazy how a government can take away your right to go home. Or your freedom to travel. Not for any actual crimes, but for what you say or what you believe.That is what the Erdoğan government did to me. That is what is happening right now to thousands of people in Turkey. The biggest threat to Erdoğan is free speech, so he will punish anyone who speaks up or thinks for himself. You can ask the protesters beaten by his security detail last week in Washington, D.C."

No doubt you’ve heard about how he had to escape Indonesia, Fleeing in the night only to end up stranded in Romania with his passport revoked and the Turkish Government dictating the entire situation calling him ‘dangerous‘.

In a Players Tribune article, Kanter detailed the circumstances behind his ordeal and elaborated on how he became a person of interest internationally.

"I speak my mind about things that I believe in, I always have. I share my thoughts on Twitter and Facebook about the terrible things that are being done to people in Turkey, I want the whole world to know about the human rights abuses that are going on there.To the Erdoğan government, this makes me a dangerous man."

Kanter thankful for the small things:

Although Kanter is safely back in America his story touched a chord in me. Most of us can empathize with the loss of a loved one. Personally, I’ve suffered more than my fair share, but I can’t imagine being in Kanter’s situation. His loved ones are alive, but he can’t communicate with them because he risks endangering them further.

Here is a young man who chooses to use his platform in a positive way to reach out to young less privileged children via his camps. As per his media page, the Enes Kanter Light Foundation “fosters awareness and provides assistance for children’s development; in areas of education, poverty alleviation and social harmony.”

Does that sound like someone dangerous?

No, it doesn’t. Rather, here is a 25-year-old who has wealth beyond what the majority of us can comprehend. And yet, he feels alone with no family or country. In essence his teammates and Oklahoma City (America) have replaced those entities in his life.

"I feel like I have an American family. Yesterday I ran into Nick Collison in New York. When he saw me, he just opened his arms and gave me a hug. That is Nick.Russ texted me on Saturday when I was stuck in Romania. He said, “Let me know what I can do.”That is Russ."

Life Lessons:

The past season has been filled with copious life lessons for Enes Kanter, professionally and personally. On the court, a brief moment of anger led to a broken arm. In reflection, consider how Kanter dealt with that embarrassment. Long after it was no longer a narrative he reminded the world about it via another Players Tribune offering.

In this instance it was a selfless gesture, using the incident to show the world the more humane side of Russell Westbrook and how the MVP finalist’s leadership and kindness were pivotal to his healing (internal and external) process.

"Just like our entire team learned to adopt Russ’s personality this season … I think that our entire city also learned to adopt Russ’s personality. I think that OKC, as a fan base, felt like they got a raw deal from a lot of people in the off-season. And they had haters to silence, and a big chip on their shoulder, and something to prove … just like our team. And just like Russ."

As is his nature, Kanter didn’t just languish praise on Russ, but in the city, he now calls home. His off-court activities speak to his love of Oklahoma City where Kanter hasn’t just grown he’s thrived. Throughout the season he visited hospitals, food banks, cooking shows, and kept people entertained with fellow Stache Brother, Steven Adams via a series of videos championing Westbrook for MVP.

For all the dialogue regarding Westbrook’s guarded nature, it could be reasoned Kanter is his opposite end of the spectrum match. Gregarious, charming and exuberant Kanter is the constant distributor of joy on the Thunder squad. Although Victor Oladipo, Nick Collison, and Andre Roberson have all spoken of their closeness to Westbrook, inarguably Kanter is his greatest supporter.

Kanter reminds us all of what is truly important:

In general, the masses tend to look at athlete millionaires on par with celebrities. Although there are exceptions, for the most part, they aren’t visible and active in communities. Certainly, there are philanthropic efforts, but not a constant presence. Nor is it usual for younger players to take risks speaking out publicly on political or human rights issues. Enes Kanter breaks the mold in this regard.

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Despite death threats and isolation from his country and family he soldiers on educating the world on the inhuman treatment Turkish men and women endure. Suffice to say Enes Kanter is a brave and impassioned man.

Prior to this past weekend when I thought of Kanter it was as the happy center on the Thunder who maybe appreciated Russell Westbrook even more than I do (a feat I thought was impossible). After this weekend, however, I have a whole new respect for Enes Kanter.

His mission is clear, to use his platform in an effort to deliver positive motivation and knowledge. Here is a man of great wealth and privilege reminding us all the purest things in life like simple decency and human rights are what truly matter.

Enes Kanter’s experience has taught us all what we take for granted, that each of us is rich just because we live in North America.

The overriding lesson I learned is though we may envy Kanter’s membership to the exclusive NBA club, the irony is he envies us.

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