ISTANBUL: The father of Turkish NBA player Enes Kanter has been acquitted on charges of belonging to a terror group, Turkish media reported Friday, as the basketballer hailed his father’s release.
Mehmet Kanter, a university professor, was charged in 2018 with membership to the group that Ankara blames for a 2016 failed coup.
Appearing in court in Tekirdag, northwestern Turkey on Thursday, he rejected any ties to the movement of US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, the Birgun newspaper reported on its website.
The elder Kanter had been briefly detained in 2017. His passport was confiscated after his release, preventing him from traveling overseas.
His 28-year-old son Enes, who plays with the Boston Celtics and is facing similar accusations, took to Twitter on Friday to say his father had been released.
“Wow! I could cry,” wrote Kanter.
“MY DAD HAS BEEN RELEASED! “This is due to the pressure we have put on the Turkish regime.”
Kanter said that his father had faced a “Kangaroo court” and been accused of “being a criminal just because he is my dad.”
The Celtics center is an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and has expressed support for Gulen.
Turkey blames the attempted overthrow of Erdogan in 2016 on the president’s former ally-turned-foe Gulen, but the preacher vehemently denies the claims.
Enes Kanter was detained in 2017 at a Romanian airport after being told his Turkish passport had been canceled — a move that the basketballer said was due to his political views.
Kanter was allowed to leave a few hours later.
Turkish basketballer’s father acquitted of terror charges
https://arab.news/ntm2k
Turkish basketballer’s father acquitted of terror charges
- Mehmet Kanter, a university professor, was charged in 2018 with membership to the group that Ankara blames for a 2016 failed coup
- Kanter said that his father had faced a “Kangaroo court” and been accused of “being a criminal just because he is my dad”
Drake Maye aims to do what Tom Brady couldn’t with the Patriots: win a playoff game in Denver
FOXBOROUGH, Mass.: Drake Maye has a chance to accomplish something not even Tom Brady did with the Patriots.
Maye is hoping to beat the Broncos in the AFC championship game in Denver on Sunday and lead New England to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. The Patriots have never won a playoff game in Denver — losing all four tries, with Brady going 0-3.
“Just the AFC championship, the chance to go to the Super Bowl. That’d be huge,” Maye said. “Another road environment that’s had success in the past. … I know it would be a big-time win.”
The Patriots advanced to their 14th AFC championship game in the last 25 years on Sunday when they beat the Houston Texans 28-16 in Foxborough. Denver beat Buffalo 33-30 to reach the conference title game.
New England and Denver both finished 14-3 in the regular season, but the Broncos won the tiebreaker for home-field advantage because they had a better record against common opponents: Denver beat the Raiders twice this season but the Patriots lost to them.
That loss — to the worst team in the NFL in the first game of the Mike Vrabel era — sent New England into one of the most inhospitable environments in the league. In addition to the high-energy crowd, the Patriots will also have to contend with a low-oxygen environment that they won’t have a chance to acclimate to.
“Kind of what we’ve been doing on the road all season long,” said Maye, who has guided the Patriots to an 8-0 road record this season. “They’ve got a great team, so we’re going to have a tough challenge. But I’m looking forward to getting out there. And getting a chance to possibly celebrate on an away field would be pretty special.”
The last team to go undefeated on the road with a new head coach was the San Francisco 49ers under George Seifert in 1989; they won the Super Bowl.
“Coach has always been saying, ‘Road warriors,’” Maye said. “So, we’re trying to find that one more time and finish out strong what we’ve done this year.”
The Broncos are 18-5 in home playoff games all-time. But they’ll will be without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who broke his ankle near the end of the divisional round victory over Buffalo. Instead, the offense will be led by former Patriot Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t thrown a pass since 2023.
That’s why New England opened as a 5½-point favorite — the biggest road favorite ever in a conference championship game. The line has since moved to Denver plus-4½.
“We always feel as though no matter what anyone else has to say, we still have something to prove,” said cornerback Marcus Jones, who returned an interception for a touchdown against Houston. “We’re trying to always prove ourselves right and not trying to prove other people wrong. That’s kind of the philosophy we’ve had for a long time.”
Win or lose, the Patriots could have trouble getting back to New England: A major snowstorm is expected to dump a foot or more of snow on the area.
Vrabel said the team is prepared if it can’t leave Denver on Sunday night.
“We have multiple plans of what could go on based on the weather. something that they’re familiar with here,” he said. “I mean, there’s things I can control, that I can’t control.”
