Enes Kanter ejected from Fever-Sky after heated confrontation with WNBA player
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom isn’t shying away from having the spotlight shined on him.
The 34-year-old center recently made waves when he declared for the 2027 WNBA draft in the aftermath of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments about not wanting transgender athletes to play in girls and women’s sports.
Further stirring the pot, Kanter Freedom showed up to Sunday’s game between the Fever and Chicago Sky sitting courtside and wearing a T-shirt that read: “WOMAN noun: adult human female.”
Kanter Freedom didn’t get to see how the game ended, however, after he was ejected in the third quarter after getting into an animated verbal argument with Sky guard Natasha Cloud.
During a timeout late in the period, Cloud began shouting at Kanter Freedom as she walked toward him. He stood up and advanced toward her before security intervened and escorted him out of the arena.
“I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA! 🇺🇸,” Kanter Freedom posted on X.
After the game, Cloud did not speak with the media although she did meet with team and WNBA security, according to CBS Sports.
Sky head coach Tyler Marsh explained Cloud’s absence after the game.
“I talked to the team and Tash didn’t want to feel like she was a distraction. 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.
“She’s passionate and she’s passionate about the things she believes in and she’s passionate about her teammates, and we’re passionate about her.”
WNBA rules state “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” However, the CBS doesn’t specify if that means only players whose birth sex is female can play or if transgender athletes who identify as female can also play.
WNBA team presidents held a recent meeting to discuss the league’s eligibility rules for transgender athletes. An official statement on gender eligibility rules is expected before next season.
