Enes Kanter Freedom kicked out of WNBA game while wearing shirt defending girls’ sports

Basketball star Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) matchup after a confrontation Sunday night with a Chicago Sky player who reportedly took issue with Freedom’s support for protecting girls’ sports.

In footage of the encounter posted online, Freedom is seen celebrating a score by Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who has also been a vocal proponent of keeping biological males out of girls’ sports. After raising his hands to congratulate Cuningham on her shot, Chicago Sky player Natasha Cloud began shouting at Freedom and angrily rushing toward him. When Freedom stepped toward the court, he was escorted out by security. He was wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “WOMAN, noun. adult human female” printed across the chest.

In a Fox News interview, Freedom revealed that Cloud had rushed over to make vulgar comments, telling the former New York Knicks and Boston Celtics player that Cunningham is “not gonna sleep with you.”

“I was like, ‘I am not trying to sleep with her. I’m just here to protect women and support her,’” Freedom responded, before Cloud “started yapping” and using strong language in front of children, he recounted. “I just cannot believe that she was just cussing and using those F-bombs in front of all these kids. I’m sure she’s loved in Chicago and many kids are idolizing her and stuff, but that’s not how a WNBA athlete should react.”

Freedom suggested that the message on his shirt likely provoked a response from Cloud. 

“I was obviously wearing a shirt explaining what a woman is, and I think that had a lot to do with what she thinks about women,” he said. “I think it triggered her a lot."

Earlier this month, Freedom announced that he had declared for the 2027 WNBA draft, in a bid to highlight the need to protect girls’ and women’s sports from biological males. While multiple WNBA players have claimed that they would welcome biological male teammates who identify as the opposite sex, the WNBA players’ union accused Freedom of being disingenuous.

“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” Freedom said when announcing his eligibility for the draft. 

“I am definitely not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or personal choices,” Freedom said, rejecting claims that he was treating transgender-identifying individuals unfairly. “I am simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone — the rules that represent the very values many WNBA players and coaches have publicly advocated for.”

Freedom concluded by saying he and his team were prepared to press for “equal” and “consistent” application of the rules. “See you at training camp,” he said.

“We embrace justice equity, diversity, and inclusion," the Women’s National Basketball Players Association responded in a subsequent statement. "Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women's sports while creating transformational change. Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.”

Freedom’s ejection from the Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever game is just the most recent example of controversy surrounding the issue of transgenderism in the WNBA and girls’ and women’s sports. Last month, Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton was fined and suspended from attending home games after verbally abusing two teenage fans who carried signs thanking Cunningham for defending girls’ sports. Just days later, security personnel at an Atlanta Dream-Indiana Fever game directed fans to cover up the “XX-XY” slogans on their clothing. The slogans are part of a brand defending girls’ and women’s sports.