Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday’s women’s NBA game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever after being involved in a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. Sitting on the court, Kanter Freedom stood with his arms outstretched and took steps toward the court after Cloud began pointing and yelling at him during a timeout. Kanter Freedom was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “WOMAN noun. Adult human female.” This month, she declared that she would enter next season’s WNBA Draft, citing current eligibility guidelines, or lack thereof, for transgender players. Security and other Sky players intervened, before former Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics center Kanter Freedom was escorted off the court. Posted on X, External: “I just got kicked out of a WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!” Writing in Threads, External after the game, Cloud said: “To every Trans Child/person, you are part of MY community and tribe. You are loved. You are perfect just the way you are and you will always be protected by me.” Kanter Freedom reportedly spoke with police officers before leaving Chicago’s Wintrust Arena. The Fever won the match 113-90. “There are so many good things about this league and so many good things about the game of these players, that if you come to a game, you should probably come to enjoy basketball,” he said. Sky head coach Tyler Marsh: “That seems pretty simple to me. I think these players deserve it and have earned it. Being a former basketball player, you should probably understand and feel it too.”
