By Kurt Helin, NBC News
According to the New York Times, Oklahoma City Thunder big man Enes Kanter was allowed to leave the Romanian airport on a flight to London on Saturday after being detained. From there he likely can return to the United States.
Let’s start with a little background: Kanter is a native of Turkey, and he is also a supporter of the Gülen movement in that country. That movement has been in opposition to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, a man who recently won a disputed election in that country that gives him sweeping, almost dictatorial powers (and he has a long history of human rights abuses, so that power is a bad combination).
Kanter has never been shy about expressing his political views. It was Gulen that Erdogan blamed for a failed 2016 coup attempt in Turkey. Kanter has been disavowed by his own family because of his political beliefs.
Kanter tweeted out a video Saturday morning from a Romanian airport, where he was being held because his Turkish passport had been canceled.
Kanter had optimistic he will be able to return to the United States and the Thunder are involved in getting him back, reported the Oklahoman newspaper.
Kanter, who turned 25 on Saturday, is on a global tour for his Enes Kanter Foundation.
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