Revealed: Major NBA brands linked to forced labor in China

Li-Ning, Anta and 361 Degrees all own facilities linked to Uyghur oppression - with Nike's supply chain also tainted

When Enes Kanter Freedom appeared on a basketball court in his Boston Celtics jersey and a pair of trainers emblazoned with the slogan Free Uyghur", the reaction from Beijing was swift.

Literally at the half-time, they cancelled every Celtics game on television [in China] for the rest of the year," the basketball player tells the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) and the Guardian. That game, in October 2021, marked a turning point in his career. That's when the NBA got really angry at me," says Freedom.

This story was co-published with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.