Enes Kanter Won't Travel to Knicks vs. Wizards in London Because of Safety Fears

New York Knicks center Enes Kanter said Friday he won't travel to London for the team's international clash with the Washington Wizards on Jan. 17 because of lingering tensions with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Marc Berman of the New York Post noted Kanter explained following the Knicks' 119-112 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers he'd fear for his life if he made the trip across the Atlantic Ocean:

"I talk to the front office and decided I'm not going. The freaking lunatic, there's a chance I can get killed out there. I talked to the front office. I'm not going. I'm going to stay here and practice. It's pretty sad. All this stuff affects my career in basketball. I want to help my team win, but because of one lunatic guy I can't even go there to do my job. It's pretty sad. They got a lot of spies there. I can get killed pretty easy."

Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic reported a team official said Kanter can't make the trip because of a "visa issue."

Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN provided the full exchange:

Kanter detailed his criticisms of the Turkish government in a tweet:

In May 2017, Kanter was detained while traveling through an airport in Romania and said the Turkish embassy cancelled his passport during his trip. He called Erdogan the "Hitler of our century" in a Twitter post while awaiting release:

Turkish prosecutors announced in December 2017 that Kanter was facing charges that could equal more than four years in prison for insulting the country's president.

The 26-year-old post player was born in Switzerland but grew up in Turkey and was part of Fenerbahce's youth squad before spending one season with its senior team ahead of his move to the United States.

In June, the Turkish government sentenced Kanter's father, Mehmet, to 15 years in prison, and the center released a statement to Bleacher Report's Yaron Weitzman:

Kanter's absence for the upcoming Wizards game comes after he began playing a reduced role recently, with the Knicks starting Luke Kornet alongside Noah Vonleh in the frontcourt.