Enes Kanter, the Turkish NBA star whose home country has revoked his passport, on Friday expressed disdain on social media at reports that Turkey's government had issued a warrant for his arrest.
"You can't catch me. Don't waste your breath. I will come on my own will anyway, to spit on your ugly, hateful faces," Kanter said in a Twitter post accompanied by a photo of a story by Turkish newspaper Sabah about the arrest warrant.
Kanter's agent, the National Basketball Association player's union and representatives for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kanter's team, did not respond to requests for comment.
Kanter, a vocal critic of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, was detained in Romania on May 20 when authorities learned his Turkish passport had been revoked. He returned to the United States on Sunday.
On Monday in New York, Kanter lashed out at Erdogan at a news conference, calling him the "Hitler of our century."
The 6-foot-11-inch centre was traveling on a charity and promotional tour. He holds a US green card that allows him to live and work in the country on a permanent basis.
Criticism of Erdogan has intensified since an April referendum made constitutional changes that gave the Turkish leader new powers in a move some called an authoritative power grab. On May 17, a street brawl erupted in Washington, D.C., between protesters and Turkish security personnel during Erdogan's visit to the US capital.
Turkey blamed the violence on demonstrators, while the Washington police called it a "brutal attack" on peaceful protesters.
Turkey and the United States are close allies, cooperating in the fight against the group Islamic State.
The Sabah newspaper said on Friday that Kanter was named a "fugitive" by a Turkish court for his support of US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999. Erdogan is seeking Gulen's extradition for his alleged role in a failed coup last July, something Gulen has denied.
