Sky Ban Enes Kanter Freedom From Home Games

Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter said Tuesday, Aug. 25, that former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom is banned from the team's home games at Wintrust Arena.

The ban follows Freedom's ejection from Sunday's game against the Indiana Fever, where he was sitting courtside and had a confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud.

Alter said Freedom "has demonstrated to us, unequivocally, that he has the potential to be a threat," according to the Associated Press and Breitbart News.

Freedom denies he antagonized Cloud. Nothing about the underlying dispute over WNBA eligibility has been settled.

What the Team Said

Alter, announcing the ban, said of Freedom: "He has demonstrated to us, unequivocally, that he has the potential to be a threat."

Alter said the confrontation started with Freedom talking at Cloud from his courtside seat: "He began to chirp with her in the third quarter. I would characterize it as trash talking, nothing personal. Basketball-related, but enough to get her attention, engage her, and in my opinion, to try to provoke her."

Per Breitbart's account of the game, Cloud was seen yelling toward Freedom, who was sitting courtside. When Freedom stepped toward the floor, security intervened and escorted him out amid booing.

What Freedom Says

Freedom gave a different account to Outkick. This is his version, not an established one:

"Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate," Freedom said. "Literally, a couple of possessions later, Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling and said, 'She's not gonna sleep with you.'"

"And I was like, 'I am not trying to sleep with her. I'm just here to protect women and support her.' And then, obviously, after that she started yapping, and she started to walk towards me, and literally I just got up, and then I was like, 'I'm just here to protect women, and that's all,'" he added.

Freedom said he believes the incident "has a lot to do with my shirt."

The Backdrop

Freedom declared himself for the WNBA after the league's leadership said it would discuss what defines a woman, Breitbart reported. He has been seen wearing a shirt with a definition of "woman" printed on the front.

The Associated Press, citing a source, reported that Freedom and former NBA player Royce White are not eligible for the WNBA draft.

The Frank has not seen a public WNBA policy setting out how the league defines eligibility, and the league has not published one in the reporting available.