Mr. Freedom, the Swiss-born, Turkish-raised athlete, changed his surname to Freedom to mark a new chapter in his life when he became a U.S. citizen in 2021.

Speaking at the recent FreedomFest conference in Memphis, Tennessee, the former NBA player was met with cheers from the libertarian crowd when asked about his potential run for office.

Mr. Freedom said that he wants to run in a state that values freedom and quipped about the electorate also enjoying plenty of sunshine and beaches. However, he believes that the current division within the country makes it too early for him to launch a political campaign.

“I will say it’s a little too early for me to run because right now, unfortunately, our country is so divided,” he told Fox News. “Once you get into politics, you lose 50 percent of the people.”

Despite the enthusiasm from some members on Capitol Hill, urging him to bring his voice to Congress or the Senate, Mr. Freedom said that he plans to wait for the right time to enter politics. He hinted that 2028 is a more likely year for his potential candidacy.

Mr. Freedom identified education as the number one priority he would focus on if he were to run for office. He stressed the importance of providing better opportunities for the younger generation to ensure a brighter future.

Mr. Freedom also expressed his commitment to promoting freedom and raising awareness about censorship issues.

“I just want to show people that how blessed and how good we have it in this country,” said Mr. Freedom.

“We got to do whatever we can to beat that,” he added, referring to censorship in the United States. “So I’m just going to do whatever I can to just, you know, get rid of that.”

$50 Million Cost of Speaking Out

Mr. Freedom embarked on his NBA career in 2011, starting with the Utah Jazz and wrapping up his career as a center with the Boston Celtics. However, he was sidelined in 2022 after expressing opposition to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with China being a significant market for the NBA.

At a July 11 hearing before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mr. Freedom claimed to have lost approximately $50 million in salaries and potential endorsements after his NBA career ended.

“According to my manager, I lost around $50 million dollars, with all the NBA contracts and endorsement deals that I could’ve signed,” the sportsman said.

“I sleep in peace at night knowing that I did the right thing. My only question is: How can the biggest dictatorship in the world, China, control an 100 percent American-made company and fire an American citizen?” he added.

Mr. Freedom said he is concerned about the fear among NBA players to express their beliefs in the face of “cancel culture.” He said NBA players fear repercussions in the form of lost contracts and endorsement deals.

Speaking to Fox News, Mr. Freedom reflected on the patriotism of Americans, recounting an incident in the locker room where his teammates “were calling America trash, and they were saying some really harsh things about America.”

He challenged their perspective by offering to show them the living conditions in countries like China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, and North Korea, highlighting the liberties and opportunities that the United States offers.

“People need to understand that how good we have it in this country,” Mr. Freedom said.

The upcoming 2024 presidential election will mark the first time Mr. Freedom is eligible to vote in the United States.

While he remained coy about revealing his favorite candidate, he mentioned that he has met with many of them. His main hope is to see a candidate who can unite the country and lead it to even greater heights.

“I just hope that whoever is going to unite this country and whoever is going to make this country even better than it is wins,” Mr. Freedom said.

Mr. Freedom has been vocal about human rights violations in Turkey for the past 11 years, including concerns about his own relatives being prosecuted under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. He later shifted his activism toward China after being questioned by a parent at a basketball camp in New York about his silence on alleged abuses against Uyghur and other Muslim minority groups by the CCP.

The United States has also accused the CCP of genocide. China has repeatedly dismissed the claims as a smear campaign.

Mr. Freedom made headlines for denouncing human rights abuses in China, including labeling CCP leader Xi Jinping as a “brutal dictator,” resulting in Celtics games being banned from Chinese media.

He also called for a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in protest of human rights abuses in the country.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this report. Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.

LeBron James’s son, Bronny James, was rushed to the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest during a basketball workout, a spokesperson for the family told news outlets on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old basketball prospect was treated in the intensive care unit before being released to general care, the spokesperson said.

“Yesterday while practicing Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU,” the spokesperson said. “We ask for respect and privacy for the James family, and we will update media when there is more information.”

LeBron and Savannah James sent their “deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes,” the spokesperson added.

Entertainment news website TMZ first reported the news, saying a 911 call was made from the University of Southern California’s Galen Center, which is where the USC Trojans play and practice. Bronny James recently committed to USC and is expected to follow in his famous father’s footsteps by joining the NBA.

Bronny, a six-foot-three guard, was a considered four-star recruit out of Sierra Canyon High School. He’s the oldest of the three James siblings.

“My last year will be with my son. Wherever Bronny’s at, that’s where I’ll be,” LeBron James told The Athletic in February of last year. “I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point.”

Other details about his condition were not provided. However, on social media, a number of users claimed without evidence that Bronny James suffered cardiac arrest due to the COVID-19 vaccine, which federal officials have linked to myocarditis or pericarditis, two types of heart inflammation.

Article cross-posted from our premium news partners at The Epoch Times.

But their hypocrisy over controversial NBA star Kyrie Irving may be their worst crime to date. They have dumped the player and his iconic shoes over his Tweet that linked to a so-called “antisemitic” film on Amazon.

Meanwhile, they continue to do massive amounts of business with the Chinese Communist Party despite their blatant genocide against the Uyghurs. Conservative sports commentator Clay Travis noticed:

Nike has ended its relationship with Kyrie Irving over “hate speech” but continues its partnership with the Chinese government, which is currently committing actual genocide against Muslims.

Nike has ended its relationship with Kyrie Irving over “hate speech” but continues its partnership with the Chinese government, which is currently committing actual genocide against Muslims. pic.twitter.com/5531Jo1IBJ

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) November 5, 2022

Wide open billion dollar market out there for a new shoe company that just says, “I don’t give a fuck what your opinions are on anything, but our shoes are badass.” Sell them direct online. Market them as the uncancelable shoe. Hell, I may have to do it.

The Air First Amendments. Free speech is the new counterculture.

The Air First Amendments. Free speech is the new counterculture.

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) November 5, 2022

Nothing virtue signals pure wokeness better than a shoe company that endorses genocide of the Uyghurs while condemning a guy who posted an Amazon link. Nike is the epitome of moral incongruity and ethical cognitive dissonance.

According to ESPN:

Former NBA player and Purdue Boilermakers standout Caleb Swanigan has died. He was 25.

Swanigan died Monday night, with the Allen County coroner’s office saying he died of natural causes at a Fort Wayne, Indiana, hospital.

Whether it’s “cause of death is unknown” or “died of natural causes,” the accumulation of surprising deaths of young people, particularly athletes, has Covid-19 vaccine skeptics very concerned. We should be, considering this continues to happen over and over again without official explanation.

The best they’ve come up with so far is “Sudden Adult Death Syndrome” which many in the anti-vaxx world believe is just a way to lump all of the vaccine-induced deaths together without acknowledging what they are. This has become far too common, yet the nobody in corporate media is asking the question and only a handful in alternative media dare say “adverse reaction” for fear of being canceled by Google or Facebook.

We have to speak the truth even if it gets us labeled. Since so few in alternative media are willing to say what they’re thinking, we will. Unless Caleb Swanigan’s death can be explained, we’re chalking it up as another Covid jab death. It’s the only logical explanation considering what has been happening the last year-and-a-half.