Thanks to an terrific article in the New York Times, we recently learned that Hakan Sukur, the “LeBron James” of Turkey’s soccer world, is a part-owner of Tuts Cafe in downtown Palo Alto.
The story of how Mr. Sukur went from being a World Cup star to making lattes in Palo Alto is a fascinating tale of politics, immigration and the struggle in Turkey for freedom under the regime of current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
photo credit: APF
From leading scorer to politician
Famous for scoring the earliest goal in World Cup history (less than 11 seconds after the game began), Sukur was a widely celebrated and beloved soccer star in Turkey, where soccer is beloved above all other sports. When he retired from soccer in 2008, Sukur became a sports reporter and eventually ran a successful race for a seat in the Turkish Parliament in 2011.
Speaking out against the government and paying the price
Sukur began his political career as an ally of President Erdogan and member of the ruling AKP party. But when he spoke out in 2013 about the party’s attacks on the Islamic Gülen movement, one of the country’s leading religious factions, Sukur was forced to quit both Parliament and politics.
As a private citizen known to be a critic of the Erdogan government, Sukur found it increasingly difficult to do business in Turkey. After visiting some friends Palo Alto in 2016, he decided to relocate here. A few months later, he bought part ownership of Tuts Bakery and Cafe and told his wife and three children to join him in California.
Even in Palo Alto, still a target for arrest
After a failed coup attempt in 2016, Turkey issued a warrant for Sukur’s arrest, claiming that he was involved in plotting the overthrow. While Sukur was already in Palo Alto when the coup took place, the government still seized his assets and put his father in jail for months. Although he Sukur denied any involvement with the coup and his father was eventually released, this warrant leaves him essentially exiled in Northern California with no way to return to Turkey or see his extended family.
“Unable to go home and hug their loved ones…”
This distance is heartbreaking, as described by The New York Times: “Last Friday my father says to my son, ‘I miss you,’ ” Sukur said in English, before turning to Turkish to finish the story. “ ‘I want to hug you.’ And then my son started to cry, and my father was crying, and we were all crying. I know there are millions of people living in these conditions in the U.S. for a very long time, unable to go home and hug their loved ones.”
Building a new home in Palo Alto
With the understanding that he is here for the foreseeable future, Hakan Sukur has built a quiet life in Palo Alto, playing soccer in a league in Mountain View (he is one of his team’s top scorers), and greeting customers at Tuts Cafe. As he told the New York Times, “Life is not where you live…it’s what you do where you live.”
photo credit: Tuts Cafe
Visit Tuts Cafe to see the star who is right in our backyard
So the next time you are in downtown Palo Alto, stop in at Tut’s Cafe to see if Mr. Sukur is around for a photo or autograph, or to serve up one of his delicious Turkish pastries. He may seem like an ordinary guy, but he has an extraordinary story to tell!
Photo credit: Tuts Cafe
Check out the full story about Hakan Sukur and Palo Alto on The New York Times.
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