Enes Kanter Freedom to be presented with inaugural ‘Mayor’s Freedom Award’ in Utah city

Fox News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

It’s been over a year since Enes Kanter Freedom last played in an NBA game, but the 11-year NBA veteran remains in the public eye as he continues to advocate for human rights across the world. 

Kanter Freedom will be presented with the inaugural Riverton, Utah, "Mayor’s Freedom Award" on Wednesday for exercising his freedom of speech as he continues to speak out against human rights abuses in China and other countries around the globe. 

Enes Kanter leaves the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston after he was sworn in as a U.S. citizen and legally changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom on November 29, 2021.  (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

He’ll return to the state where his NBA career began in order to be presented with the award, nearly 12 years after being drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz. 

"Utah plays a very important role in my life because I got drafted by the Utah Jazz and played there [for] three and half years," Kanter Freedom told Fox News Digital. "And while I played for the Utah Jazz, the whole city, the whole state, really took me in. They pretty much became my family. 

ZION WILLIAMSON RULED OUT FOR NBA'S PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT, HAS NOT PLAYED SINCE EARLY JANUARY: REPORT

"To get an award in Utah definitely means a lot to me," Kanter Freedom continued. 

April 12th, 2023, will also be known as "Enes Freedom Day" in the city of Riverton. 

"Not only is he a phenomenal athlete, a great basketball player, but at the same time, he’s just a champion," Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs told Fox News Digital. "He’s an ambassador for freedom of speech. And he comes at it