Knicks center Enes Kanter called the Turkish president a "lunatic." GETTY IMAGES
NBA N.Y. Knicks center ENES KANTER will not travel for his team's upcoming game in London because he believes "he could be assassinated for his opposition" to Turkish President RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, according to the AP. Kanter announced his decision on Friday. The Knicks later said that Kanter also will not make the trip because of a visa issue. He said that he cannot travel anywhere except the U.S. and Canada because "there's a chance I could get killed out there." Kanter: "Sadly, I'm not going because of that freaking lunatic, the Turkish president. It's pretty sad that all the stuff affects my career and basketball, because I want to be out there and help my team win. But just because of the one lunatic guy, one maniac, one dictator, I can't even go out there and do my job. It's pretty sad." Kanter has been a "vocal critic" of Erdogan for years, once referring to him as "the Hitler of our century." Kanter said that it would be "easy" for an attempt on his life to be made in London. He said, "They've got a lot of spies there" (AP, 1/5).
