Kanter Freedom Ejected After WNBA Star Confronts Him
Kanter Freedom Ejected After WNBA Star Confronts Him
The News
Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday night's WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky after Sky guard Natasha Cloud confronted him from the court late in the third quarter.
Freedom, 34, was seated along the baseline at Chicago's Wintrust Arena in a black shirt that read "WOMAN noun. adult human female."
Indiana won 113-90. Cloud was not ejected.
Timeline
Before the game, Freedom joined a small rally outside the arena supporting Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who said in an ESPN profile published last month that she opposes trans-identifying males competing in girls' and women's sports.
With 1:22 left in the third quarter, the Fever called a timeout after Cloud scored inside. Cloud, 34, chest-bumped teammate Aicha Coulibaly, then turned and walked toward Freedom, yelling and pointing.
Video showed Freedom standing, holding his arms out and taking one step onto the court before security and several Sky players moved between the two.
Freedom stopped near the basket to plead his case to security as he was escorted off, then spun around holding his shirt out to draw a response from the crowd as he walked toward the front lobby. He spoke with a group of police officers before leaving the arena.
Cloud met with team and league security after the game and did not speak to reporters. She posted on social media later that night.
Reactions
Cloud's post: "To every trans kid/person, You are apart of MY community & tribe. You belong. You're loved. You're seen. You're perfect as you are. & you will always be protected by me."
Freedom gave his own account to Fox News' Outkick, saying Cloud yelled vulgarities at him courtside after he cheered a Cunningham three-pointer. The Daily Mail reported he claims Cloud aimed a sexually charged insult about Cunningham at him during the clash.
Sky forward Azura Stevens kept it short: "There was just a fan incident and the security handled it, and we're just going to focus on the game."
Sky coach Tyler Marsh said Cloud worried she had been a distraction. "I told her she wasn't," Marsh said. "I told her that we all embrace her as someone that protects our team and protects people that need to be protected and so Tash is always going to stand on that, and we stand for Tash."
Asked whether he had a message for Freedom, Marsh said: "If you come to a game you should probably come to enjoy the basketball, and that seems pretty simple to me. I think these players deserve that and have earned that. Being a former basketball player, you should probably understand and feel that too."
Fever star Caitlin Clark said she missed it: "I didn't see it, we were talking about the next play in our huddle, so I think that's probably a question for Chicago."
What's Next
Neither the WNBA nor the Sky had announced any discipline or further action as of Monday morning. Cloud has not spoken publicly beyond her social media post.
The underlying fight is not going away. The league's collective bargaining agreement says the WNBA is restricted to women but contains no specific language about gender identity or sex at birth. No trans-identifying male has ever played in the league.
More
Freedom and Royce White, another former NBA player, have both declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, saying they identify as women — a protest against the league's lack of a clear rule.
Freedom, a native of Turkey who became a U.S. citizen in 2021, has clashed with Cloud before: the two went back and forth on social media in 2023 after Cloud criticized the U.S. government.
Sunday was also the first meeting between the teams since Aug. 8, when Sky guard DiJonai Carrington struck Cunningham in the head and neck on a fast break in Indiana's 90-86 win. Referees upgraded the play to a Flagrant 2 and ejected Carrington, who then posted "WHITE PRIVILEGE" on social media and tagged the Fever. Carrington is black and Cunningham is white. Carrington later said she never claimed the call was the result of white privilege. The two played Sunday without incident.
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