The last few years have been quite difficult for Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter off the court. An outspoken critic of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kanter has faced immense blowback for his political opinions. He has been accused of being part of a terrorist group due to his support for Fethullah Gülen, had his Turkish passport cancelled and once had to flee a basketball camp he was hosting in Indonesia after learning he was being chased by officers sent by the Turkish government. 

Now, Kanter has detailed yet another incident of harassment, which took place on Friday outside a Boston mosque. In a video posted to his Twitter account, Kanter — who was at the mosque with Celtics teammate Tacko Fall — shows himself being recorded and shouted at by a group of men he claims are supporters of Erdogan. 

“There’s Turkish people attacking us,” Kanter said in the video. “I told you, America, this is crazy, right?”

Ahead of the Celtics’ open practice on Saturday, Kanter spoke to the media about the incident, and reaffirmed that he will not be scared into staying silent. Via ESPN:

“No, what I’m doing is huge because I’m talking about human rights,” Kanter said. “I’m talking about democracy, freedom, freedom of speech, religion and expression. I’m talking about justice.”

“So, just because I’m talking about these issues and that stuff, I’m going to get threats? [Then] I’ll take that. I’ll be OK having security next to me 24/7. But those issues that I’m talking about are way bigger than myself and basketball.”

Kanter said this was the first time an incident like this has happened to him in the United States, and that he wanted to get out of the situation and protect his rookie teammate. 

“But it was just sad because right next to me there was a rookie and it was Tacko. He felt very uncomfortable, so I was like, ‘This is weird, we have to get out of this situation.'”

“I was just scared,” Kanter said. “How about if they do something? I mean, more than me, it’s Tacko. … I [wanted] to protect my Tacko.”

Kanter signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Celtics in the offseason, and is expected to be a big contributor after the team lost both Al Horford and Aron Baynes in the summer. Boston’s first preseason game is set for Sunday evening at 6 p.m. ET against the Charlotte Hornets.