Sunday, May 28, 2017

Turkish NBA star tweets 'you can't catch me' at arrest warrant report

(Reuters) Enes Kanter, the Turkish NBA star whose home country has revoked his passport, on Friday expressed disdain on social media at reports that Turkey's government had issued a warrant for his arrest.

"You can’t catch me. Don’t waste your breath. I will come on my own will anyway, to spit on your ugly, hateful faces," Kanter said in a Twitter post accompanied by a photo of a story by Turkish newspaper Sabah about the arrest warrant.

Kanter's agent, the National Basketball Association player's union and representatives for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kanter's team, did not respond to requests for comment.

Kanter, a vocal critic of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, was detained in Romania on May 20 when authorities learned his Turkish passport had been revoked. He returned to the United States on Sunday.

On Monday in New York, Kanter lashed out at Erdogan at a news conference, calling him the "Hitler of our century."

The 6-foot-11-inch center was traveling on a charity and promotional tour. He holds a U.S. green card that allows him to live and work in the country on a permanent basis.

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