- Enes Freedom targeted Kyrie Irving in a recent rant
- Freedom questioned Irving’s decision to sign a sneaker deal with ANTA
- The former NBA player claimed ANTA is the biggest dictatorship in the world
Kyrie Irving has been involved in his fair share of controversies over the past few years. In 2022, Nike cut ties with Irving in light of the veteran guard sharing a link to an anti-Semitic movie.
Irving received a lot of backlash for his actions and even sustained a huge financial loss. After playing the rest of the previous season without a signature shoe deal, the 31-year-old signed a five-year deal with ANTA in July 2023. Former NBA player Enes Freedom (previously Enes Kanter) blasted Kyrie Irving for signing a contract with ‘the biggest dictatorship in the world.’
“He stood up for himself,” Freedom said. “This guy literally didn’t take the vaccine, ‘Even if I lose what, hundreds of millions of dollars?’ That’s courageous. But then you sign a shoe contract with ANTA, and everybody knows about the slave laborers and sweatshops.
“Come on, man. You have an amazing tool to inspire millions of kids out there, and you have been. But now, you’re signing a shoe deal with the biggest dictatorship in the world. It broke my heart.”
Kyrie Irving SELLS OUT to China!
Enes Kanter Freedom reacts to the hypocrisy with Dan Dakich pic.twitter.com/bLYKLCcPTr
— OutKick (@Outkick) August 7, 2023
Freedom did praise Irving for taking a stand when he denied taking the COVID-19 vaccine. It resulted in the then-Brooklyn Nets guard losing millions of dollars due to suspensions and fines. However, Freedom has seemingly lost respect for Irving after finding out about his new sneaker deal with Chinese shoe company ANTA.
Apart from being the face of the brand, Kyrie will also serve as the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) for ANTA.
Kyrie Irving Opened Up About His Partnership With ANTA
Kyrie Irving is coming off a season where he averaged 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. Keeping that in mind, the eight-time NBA All-Star remains one of the best players in the league.
ANTA will benefit a lot from making Irving its signature athlete. Speaking on the partnership, Irving claims this partnership is for everyone who wants to change the world.
“This is truly a full circle moment that I will not take for granted nor underappreciate, given the many obstacles it took to get here. This Partnership is for all of those who want to change the world. Join me on the journey.”
Irving previously claimed that his signature shoes brought in over $2.6 billion in revenue for Nike. Now, whether he can bring the same level of success for ANTA remains a question that will be answered in the coming years.
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