Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday night’s Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky WNBA game after a confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter.
Freedom, who was sitting along the baseline, was wearing a black shirt that read “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” The incident occurred after the Fever called for a timeout with 1:22 left in the third quarter. Cloud scored inside and then walked in Kanter’s direction, yelling and pointing at him. Kanter, who was standing, held his arms out and took a step onto the court as security and several Sky players intervened.
Security escorted Freedom from the arena. He was later seen speaking with police officers before departing Wintrust Arena.
“There was just a fan incident and the security handled it, and we’re just going to focus on the game,” Chicago forward Azura Stevens said following the Sky’s 113-90 loss.
Chicago coach Tyler Marsh stated that Cloud was concerned about being a distraction to her team. “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.”
Fever star Caitlin Clark said she did not see the incident as her team was discussing the next play. “So I think that’s probably a question for Chicago,” Clark said.
Cloud did not speak with the media after the game. She met with team and league security following the incident.
The WNBA has recently been a subject of discussion regarding the participation of transgender women in the league, though no such players have competed in the league. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement states the league is for women but lacks specific language on gender identity or sex assigned at birth.
Freedom, along with former NBA player Royce White, has declared himself eligible for the WNBA draft, identifying as a woman. Kanter also participated in a small rally outside the arena before the game in support of Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who, in a profile last month, expressed opposition to transgender girls and women competing in women's sports.
“If you come to a game you should probably come to enjoy the basketball,” Marsh said when asked for his message to Kanter. “And 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.”