A courtside confrontation between former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom and Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud resulted in Kanter Freedom being ejected from Sunday's WNBA game between the Sky and the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
According to BBC Sport, Kanter Freedom was seated at courtside when Cloud began pointing and shouting at him during a timeout. Kanter Freedom stood up with his arms outstretched and took steps toward the court. Security personnel and other Sky players intervened, and Kanter Freedom was escorted from the arena. He reportedly spoke with police officers before leaving.
Kanter Freedom was wearing a T-shirt that read "WOMAN noun. Adult human female." Earlier this month, he declared his intention to enter next season's WNBA Draft, citing what he described as the current eligibility guidelines, or lack of, for transgender women players.
After being removed from the arena, Kanter Freedom posted on X: "I just got kicked out of a WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!"
Cloud responded on Threads following the game. "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," she wrote.
The Fever won the game 113-90. Sky head coach Tyler Marsh addressed the incident after the game. "There's so many good things about this league and so many good things about the play of these players, that if you come to a game, you should probably come to enjoy the basketball," Marsh said. "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."
The incident came one day after the Sky's Saturday win over the Golden State Valkyries was interrupted when sex toys were thrown onto the court. A similar disruption occurred during another WNBA game the same day. USA Today reported that the same group responsible for similar incidents last season has said it plans to continue disrupting WNBA games to protest the league's transgender athlete policy.
Last season saw six games interrupted in Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles.
The WNBA's current collective bargaining agreement addresses player eligibility directly. The CBA states: "Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA." There are no transgender athletes currently competing in the league. The debate over eligibility rules intensified following recent comments from Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who played in Sunday's game, questioning the existing rules.
Kanter Freedom is a former center who played for teams including the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics.
