Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday’s Chicago Sky game after a confrontation with guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter.
Freedom had been seated along the baseline wearing a black shirt that read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” The Sky later announced that the 6-foot-10, 250-pound former NBA center would be barred from future games at Wintrust Arena. Team owner Michael Alter said the ban would remain in place “unless sometime in the future he’s able to prove to us to our satisfaction that he is able to abide by our rules without being a potential threat.”
Los Angeles Sparks star Cameron Brink also weighed in on the controversy surrounding Kanter, calling the debate over transgender athletes “non-issue” for the WNBA and suggesting the retired NBA center was “just trying to stay relevant.”
LA SPARKS STAR DIRECTS EXPLICIT RANT AT ENES KANTER FREEDOM OVER TRANS DEBATE: ‘STUPID PIECE OF S—‘
Kanter fired back at Brink’s comments Thursday during an appearance on “Fox News @ Night.”
“You guys are the one that [have] been advocating about male[s] playing in your league or against your team. Well here I am, I have arrived and I have every right to play because I identify as a woman,” he said, before then accusing Brink of taking a position he characterized as inconsistent with support for transgender athletes.
“For you to come out and act like I shouldn’t be playing, you are anti-trans and it is unacceptable.”
Kanter also responded to Megan Rapinoe. The two-time Women’s World Cup champion with the U.S. women’s national team had questioned his assertion that he was “just out there to protect women.”
“Well, oh my God, thank you so much because that’s what we were asking for. In fairness, you did warn us about men forcing their way into WNBA spaces, and lo and behold,” Rapinoe said.
ENES KANTER FREEDOM EJECTED FROM SKY-FEVER GAME AFTER VERBAL ALTERCATION WITH NATASHA CLOUD
“I grew up playing soccer and you are one of those female athletes [who] advocated [for] males playing in women’s sports, so here I am. I am offering you $5 million to any charity you want, if you beat me one-on-one in soccer.”
The confrontation with Cloud last Sunday unfolded shortly after she scored in the paint with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Fever called timeout and Cloud celebrated with teammate Aicha Coulibaly before turning and walking toward Freedom along the baseline.
Cloud, who led the WNBA in assists in 2022, began shouting and pointing toward the 34-year-old Freedom as she approached him. Freedom then rose from his seat and stepped onto the court with his arms extended as security personnel and several Sky players moved between them.
“It was pretty clear to us that his purpose of coming here was trying to be provocative and just see how much attention he could get and stir up and create,” Alter told reporters.
Kanter said he would be willing to speak directly with Cloud about the incident.
“Of course I would sit down and talk to her,” Kanter told “Fox News @ Night” host Trace Gallagher.
He then laid out a condition for ending the dispute, saying, “Unless the WNBA adds the word ‘biological’ next to the [word] ‘female’ in their collective bargaining [agreement] in Article 13, Section 1A, then I will drop everything.”
