Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday night’s game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena after a courtside altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud (Associated Press). The incident took place late in the third quarter after Cloud scored inside with 1:22 remaining, prompting the Fever to call a timeout.
Enes Kanter Freedom Ejected After Confrontation With Natasha Cloud
Freedom, 34, was sitting along the baseline wearing a black shirt that read WOMAN noun. adult human female.
(Associated Press). Following a chest bump with teammate Aicha Coulibaly, Cloud turned and walked toward Freedom while yelling and pointing at him (Associated Press). Freedom stood up, held his arms out, and took one step onto the court before security and several Sky players moved in between them (Associated Press).
As security escorted him from the court area, Freedom stopped near the basket to plead his case, spun around to show his shirt, and encouraged the crowd before speaking with police officers and departing the arena (Associated Press). Cloud met with team and league security after the game and did not speak with reporters (Associated Press).
Reactions From Players and Coaches
Chicago coach Tyler Marsh addressed the media after the game, stating that Cloud was concerned about being a distraction to the team (Associated Press). 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.
(Associated Press)
Chicago forward Azura Stevens remarked on the incident following the Sky’s 113-90 loss: There was just a fan incident and the security handled it, and we’re just going to focus on the game.
(Associated Press)
Following the game, Cloud posted a message on Threads directed at the transgender community: 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.
WNBA Context and Activism Surrounding the League
The altercation occurred amid broader ongoing debates concerning the eligibility of transgender women in the WNBA (Associated Press). While the league has never featured a transgender player, and its collective bargaining agreement specifies that players must be women without detailing gender identity guidelines, the topic has drawn intense public discussion (Associated Press, Fox32chicago).
Public attention intensified following an ESPN profile published in July featuring Fever guard Sophie Cunningham expressing opposition to transgender participation in women’s sports (Associated Press, Fox32chicago). Rallies and counter-demonstrations have since emerged outside WNBA arenas during Fever road games. Freedom and another former NBA player, Royce White, declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, stating that they identify as women (Associated Press, Fox32chicago). Ahead of Sunday’s game, Freedom participated in a small rally supporting Cunningham outside Wintrust Arena, where he was heckled by fans (Associated Press, The New York Times).
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently denounced efforts to use the league to sow divisiveness,
describing the discourse as a political football involving individuals who do not typically follow or cover the sport. Engelbert noted that the league sent a memo to team leadership indicating plans to discuss the topic of transgender women in women’s basketball.
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