Enes Kanter Freedom Ejected From Fever-Sky Game After Courtside Shouting Match With Natasha Cloud

Enes Kanter Freedom got escorted out of Wintrust Arena in Chicago Sunday night after a courtside confrontation with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud during the Indiana Fever's 113-90 win, according to the Associated Press.

Cloud scored on a driving layup with 1:22 left in the third quarter, which prompted a Fever timeout. As players headed to their benches, Cloud walked toward the baseline where Freedom was sitting and started yelling and pointing at him, according to CBS Sports. Freedom stood up, stepped toward the court with his arms raised, and security and several Sky players moved between them before it went further, per the AP and CBS Sports.

An official signaled for Freedom to be removed. Arena and team security walked him out of the seating bowl to a chorus of boos, according to the New York Post, which also reported he was seen arguing with security before holding up his shirt, which read "WOMAN noun. adult human female."

Freedom then spoke with Chicago Police officers in the arena lobby. "I'm supporting women, and that is the reason they're kicking me out," he told the group, according to the New York Times. "It's unacceptable."

What led up to it

Freedom, a Turkish-born former NBA center who played 11 seasons including stints with the Knicks, has spent August loudly opposing transgender athletes competing in women's sports. Early this month he announced he was declaring for the 2027 WNBA draft, saying he'd reviewed the league's self-identification policy and met its requirements, according to the Daily Wire. Former NBA player Royce White made a similar announcement, calling himself "a sometimes identifying transgender woman" and saying he'd sue for discrimination if not drafted.

The stunt is a direct response to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert's handling of the transgender debate. Fox News reported Engelbert sent a league memo on trans inclusion after the Freedom and White announcements and has previously drawn criticism for what Fox characterized as blaming the wrong people for "sowing divisiveness."

The underlying fight traces back to Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who told ESPN in July that she wants to "protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men," according to CBS Sports. Cunningham has stuck by that position since, and small rallies both for and against her stance have followed the Fever on their road trips, according to the Daily Wire, which also reported that fans wearing pro-Cunningham "XX-XY Athletics" shirts have been harassed or told to cover up at some venues. No transgender athletes currently play in the WNBA, the New York Times noted.

Freedom attended a pregame rally supporting Cunningham and was confronted by a group of protesters outside the arena before the game, according to Fox News. He also posted a photo from outside an arena restroom at halftime with the caption "Rules are rules," a jab tied to bathroom-access arguments in the trans-sports debate.

Conflicting accounts of who started it

Accounts differ on exactly what triggered the blowup. A fan identified by the New York Times as Tricia Smith, who said she sat next to Freedom the entire game, told the paper Cloud approached him first: "She came over and threw her hands up and was talking [expletive] to his face. So he stood up and said, like, 'What? What do you want?' He didn't do a thing."

Sky coach Tyler Marsh gave a different frame after the game, telling reporters Cloud didn't want to be seen as a distraction. "I told her she wasn't," Marsh said, according to the AP and CBS Sports. "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." Cloud did not speak to media afterward and instead met with team and league security, per multiple outlets.

Sky players Azura Stevens and Aicha Coulibaly declined to engage with questions about Freedom postgame, with Stevens telling reporters, "There was just a fan incident and the security handled it. We're going to just focus on the game," according to Fox News.

Fever star Caitlin Clark said she didn't see the incident, and coach Stephanie White downplayed it as "a social media thing," telling reporters it's "important that people like you guys in this room don't give it any gas," according to CBS Sports.

What's unresolved

Neither the WNBA nor the Sky had issued a public statement on the ejection as of Sunday night, and the New York Post reported it had reached out to both for comment. Cloud and Freedom have a prior history of public sparring, dating back to a 2023 social media exchange after Cloud called the United States "trash," which Freedom referenced Sunday by suggesting she'd prefer living in China, Russia or Turkey, according to Fox News.

Freedom's actual eligibility for the 2027 WNBA draft, and whether the league will address his and White's self-identification claims directly, remains an open question the league has not publicly answered.