The Famous Soccer Player Hiding in Plain Sight in a California Bakery

Wouldn't this guy be a good candidate for the program for individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement? Didn't that work for Melania whatshername?

" He played against Premier League competition with England's Blackburn Rovers..." ?? You mean,he played for Blackburn Rovers in the Premiership.

Your sympathies may have been a little misguided. Hakan himself played a role in making Erdogan the oppressive megalomaniac he has become now. He actually did play the game. Should we give him credit for failing to pivot instantly from FETO to Erdogan like so many have? He was a party to all the injustices Hizmet meted out, depriving millions of Turkish citizens of their rights, opportunities and livelihoods. He helped them to dismantle the secular and democratic institutions that had made Turkey a very bright spot in the whole region. Why not a single question related to his such deeds? Why not ask why his wife goes uncovered now while she was covered when he was the darling of AKP? He is lucky to have made it out. Millions of Turks are trapped still suffering massive injustice meanwhile.

“You sleep in the bed you make.” This is the predicament Mr. Sukur now finds himself in as well as most of the Turkish public since the coup attempt in 2016. The supposedly religious Hizmet movement, which has no legal identity and led by Mr. Gulen, gradually but “secretly” infiltrated the Turkish government starting 1980s, especially the police, judiciary, and military through unethical and, frequently, illegal methods. They took pains to do the infiltration slowly in order to gain enough power against being crushed. They brainwashed children, destroyed the lives of tens of thousands of people, corrupted many institutions, and resorted to assassinations when necessary. The movement succeeded mainly because nearly all Turkish administrations either turned a blind eye, like the military government installed after the coup d'état in 1980, or openly supported it, like the AKP governments from 2003 through 2013. Repeated warnings by various government entities, NGOs and academicians about the threat posed by its growing unchecked power, lack of transparency and accountability and the many injustices and corruption it led went unheeded. I have very little sympathy for what happened to Mr. Sukur as it was his choice being part of it throughout the years. But I also have little sympathy for many of my fellow citizens as they allowed its biggest supporters for as long as a decade, i.e. Erdogan and AKP, to remain in power even after its nefarious intentions have become obvious.

My first job was working at a Dunkin Donuts. One of the guys I worked with was a doctor from Egypt. I remember thinking how bad the situation must have been in Egypt for a doctor to leave his esteemed position to come to this country and sell terrible coffee and microwaved egg sandwiches. People were so disrespectful and rude to him because of his English. If only they had some sense of who they were talking to.

"... unable to go home and hug their loved ones.” Yes, Mr. Sukur, and how about the 260 killed in the 2016 coup who will never be with their families again? You can give interviews to any publication pretending to be the innocent victim but we in Turkey know the true colors of you and your cult. You don't have to praise Erdoğan, just have the decency to denounce this cult, whose members have undeniably been involved in the coup. But you won't. Instead, like other high-ranking members of FETO, you'll continue living your lavish lifestyle in the comfort of your expensive home in the US while the brunt of the responsibility for FETO is, again, carried by the unfortunate many who you and others tricked under the guise of moderate Islam.

I agree, brave person. Others may be quick to condemn a person’s enlightenment but then again how brave are they. Erdogan is a thug and despot who no doubt engineered and staged his own coup to lay the groundwork for grabbing more power. Its his little “Reichstag fire” like the staged event that brought another despicable dictator to power in the 1930’s.

Brain drain time for Turkey. Politicians like Erdogan must appeal to the least educated and unexposed sectors of a nation. Therefore, the most capable and energetic members of that society are not wanted. The type of people who help to renew the American experiment. You and your family are an asset to this nation.

this man is responsible for 247 loss on 15th July 2016. that failed coup attempt was made by these terrorists. %99 of people in turkey know that they did it. but you go listen that %1 and try to come to a conclusion. come to turkey and ask anyone. they will tell you to the truth. you should put that terrorist into prison immediately. dear us officials please listen to your conscious.

Braveheart It takes a big heart to defend aggrieved people. It takes a big heart to take a tough stance against the dictator. Hakan Sukur has a big heart. We love you, Captain. I hope you'll open a coffee shop in NYC too.

If I had not known what kind of a person Hakan Sukur is, I would have felt pity for him. He is not a poor refugee running away from an oppressive government. He actually helped Erdogan build a religious oppressive country. He is a follower of Gülen, and only when Erdogan and Gülen fell apart, Sukur resigned. This is not an objective interview.

I’ve always admired him as a player but he was no more than a rubber stamp of Erdogan when he was in fact elected to represent people/his constituent. I feel terrible for his current hardship but I suspect he’s been doing a lot of soul searching as well.

Palo Alto seems like a great place to be and now they have Turkeys greatest soccer player of all time. Some of the major soccer clubs in the US should try to make use of him. Either as the manager, coach or a talent scout. Its too bad the situation in Turkey worsens everyday. Erdogan must have lost his mind completly. He was’nt like this some years ago. Now Erdogan seems to do his best to be like Putin. The opposition in Turkey has been strangled, awkvardly, he does’nt even face any real opposition Internationally. Erdogan is playing both USA/NATO and Russia. And the all play along. Only Germany stands up to Erdogan.

Politics is like making sausage in this case quite literally and deliciously.

Sounds like he totally neglected to diversify his investments and so lost everything when Erdogan stole his assets in Turkey. Seriously, how can a rich soccer player have all his money in one country, and a backwards and politically unstable country too? With his career, he should have had a net worth of at least 10 million, probably more like 100 million.

This story is why I love the NYT. I wish the best for Sukur and his family. He appears to be a world class person as well as athlete.

It is interesting to see Turkish meatballs in the news twice in the space of a few days: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/world/europe/swedish-meatballs-turkey...

He was one of the players that I remembered most during WC 2002. Him and Ronaldo. Erdogan has become Turkey's Putin.

A man in the true tradition of Ataturk! There should be a lot more of him still in Turkey!

Considering how bad the US team is at the moment, maybe he could coach it?

Like so many before him, Sukur escaped a terrible fate in his native country and escaped to the US to enjoy the trappings of freedom and liberty. Those trappings are under assault now, and all good people must rise up to protect them.

I hope he and his family won't need a bodyguard after this article. And I hope Trump doesn't try to show his anti-immigrant supporters how vicious he can be by deporting Sukur. But maybe another country would be better for him, given the U.S.'s downward spiral.

Don't think it couldn't happen here...

"..secured an investor’s visa and told his wife, Beyda, and their children (two daughters, now 18 and 16, and a son, age 12) to come." While millions of poor people fleeing war in Syria are forced to live in primitive refugee camps along the Turkish border. While millions of poor people in Latin America flee repressive regimes and under constant threat of mayhem and death. But a rich, popular soccer guy is able to enter the U.S. and ultimately bring his family .. It's not fair and it's not right!

Everyone talks about the goal he scored in the third-place game at the World Cup in 2002. Psshhhh, find the end of that match on YouTube, see what a class act that guy is. The Korean players have run themselves ragged the entire match, and collapse on the field at the final whistle, some of them crying with disappointment at letting down their Korean fans. Sukur and the other Turkish players go over, pull the Koreans to their feet and they all stand together in a long line, and bow to the fans. God, I'm tearing up just typing this! THAT is what sport is supposed to be about. He left the field that day wrapped in a Korean flag. Class act all the way through, I wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

Well he was a very good player. You guys don't know this in America but he supports a religious leader Feytullah who resides in Pennsylvania. Feytullah helped Erdogan come to power and they both got together and destroyed the military and therefore there is also no opposition to Erdogan now because left is fractured and military is not secular anymore. When they both did not have enemies, they had problem sharing the power and money. Erdogan got very confident because he was winning election after election so he basically said I don't need you anymore. Then probably some of Feytullah supporters tried to overthrow Erdogan. Religion is never good if you mix it with politics. Therefore the west (America and Europe) have a separation of church and state. I am secular and I don't like either of them Feytullah and Erdogan. There religious people will come to power using democracy crying to the West that our girls can not go to unversities with a turban. When they come into power, they try to cover yours, mine other daughters to cover their heads wtih a truban if they want to have a good job or advance in Turkey. There is not much difference between them. Hakan is a just a victim in the middle.

Hakan Sukur and his family are fortunate to have the resources to relocate and start over, but few people will consider/understand the real costs, to Sukur, of leaving Turkey. It is hard to imagine giving up the recognition and adulation that Sukur enjoyed as a top athletic star, a politician, and as a friend/colleague of Erdogan. Sukur's father's arrest and imprisonment has to have been taken as an indication that Sukur has fallen from Erdogan's favor. While there may be those who say that Sukur can return and reclaim his property/fortune, as well as Erdogan's favor, it is just as likely that Sukur and his family would join the more than 60,000 Turks who have been jailed since the crackdown following the attempted coup. Hakan Sukur and his family are reminders of why it is so very important that the United States not close its borders to refugees, no matter the area of the world from which people come or the religious background of refugees. Whether world famous soccer stars or neighborhood favorite coffee sellers, the people who settle in the USA as refugee asylum seekers leave behind their lives, country, families, and everything they have known for a chance at survival and the possibility of a bit of freedom.

Hos geldin Amerika'ya, Sukur! Having lived in Turkey from 2005 - 2007, I am so sad to read about your plight from Turkey. I know it is the same for many of your fellow compatriots. Your children are fortunate to have such a principled father - stay true to yourself and you will be rewarded in kind. Hadi bakalim!

Wonderful article about one of the most talented soccer player! I still remember the days they won the UEFA cup beating Arsenal in the final. He is a very honest and mindful person. Alas, the Turkish dictator has ruined his country and lives of its people like him.

Sinclair Lewis was wrong. It CAN happen here. Anywhere...

Hakan Sukur would have been a star anywhere he put foot to ball. You need no more evidence of Erdogan's ruthless rule than the video of his thugs attacking US citizens outside the Turkish Ambassadors residence in DC. His nonchalant walk around his limo as he waved on his villains. On US Soil he felt no one could touch him?! He was correct, as none of his 'security' were charged. Trump of course turned a blind eye. Professional courtesy!

Will Stanford, Berkeley or somebody hire this guy as a soccer coach already? We have a international star athlete, who wants to coach, working in a bakery in Palo Alto. Then we wonder why we're awful at soccer.

Erdogan began destroying Turkey over ten years ago but the destruction he and AKP have brought on the country has quickened apace. Turkey's loss in Sukur and Kanter are our gain.

"Like most of Sukur’s customers, not all the neighbors know who he is — or was." Not was. Is. He is that person still, soccer or not, position in parliament or not. Please do not confuse who someone is with what he does professionally. It's clear that Mr. Sukur is a man of principle and character. It is from those qualities, not merely his external circumstances, that his identity should be deduced. I hope he and his family get their green cards. He has much to offer.

Sukur must be thrilled with the NYT's assistance---who contacted whom to initiate this national and international coverage?---to bolster and privilege his application for green cards for his family and himself and make a play for the chain migration agenda.

Not a comment on the article but simply praise of this bakery. We walk with our dog 1.5 miles to this bakery most weekends, to buy a loaf of bread for the week and a chocolate croissant for the walk home. So thank you, Sukur!

Palo Alto is a great place for Sukur to be. It's a city where over 90% of its residents have college degrees. It's very diverse ethnically. Stanford University is in Palo Alto. And the city loves soccer...kids begin classes at age 3 sometimes. Now that I know Sukar is at Tafts, I'll buy a cup of java tomorrow there.

Welcome Sukur! Be strong. There are many people here who would be thrilled to work with you.

We are playing with Trump. We think he is a distraction. A shake-up good for the country, but beware, what comes from a system that tolerates dictators.

I remember Turkey having a formidable team in the 2002 World Cup and Sukur was one of the reasons. It's shameful that he, as many thousands like him, are marked by the regime there. He is a citizen of a club of a hundred or so countries persecuting citizens who believe in civil rights for all, independent of their politics. Fortunately he is able to start a new life here while hoping that things will eventually change in his native land. Unfortunately, Erdogan is a demagogue in the likes of ours.