BREAKING: Enes Kanter Freedom EJECTED from WNBA game after player gets triggered by his pro-woman shirt
“I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!”
Former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from a WNBA game in Chicago on Sunday after a courtside confrontation with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud, as Freedom continues to advocate against allowing biological males to compete in women’s basketball. Freedom has announced his eligibility for the WNBA draft, saying that as the league doesn’t define “woman,” he can identify as such and play.
During a timeout in the third quarter of the Sky’s game against the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena, Cloud began shouting toward Freedom, who was sitting courtside, Fox News reported. Freedom responded and moved toward the court before security escorted him from the arena as spectators booed.
Shortly after being removed, Freedom posted on X, “I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!”
He followed up with another post: “It’s always women hating on other women.”
Freedom, an 11-year NBA veteran and outspoken critic of authoritarian regimes including China and Turkey, has become one of the most prominent male professional athletes publicly campaigning to preserve women’s sports for female athletes. His activism has included appearing alongside supporters of Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham, who has also become a prominent figure in the debate.
Sophie Cunningham and the Fever went on to defeat the Sky 113-90.
Freedom arrived at Sunday’s game wearing a shirt displaying the definition of “woman.” He previously criticized Cloud after the WNBA player called America “trash,” responding by offering to purchase her a ticket to China, Russia or Turkey.
Before Freedom entered the arena, a group of protesters confronted him outside Wintrust Arena, forcing security personnel to surround the 6-foot-10 former NBA player. Video showed activists
shouting at Freedom and giving him the middle finger.
“We are getting attacked before the @WNBA game in Chicago,” Freedom wrote while posting video of the incident.
Freedom also used the game to continue trolling the league over its approach to transgender athletes. At halftime, he posted a photograph of himself standing outside an arena restroom. “It’s halftime, and I need to use the restroom… Rules are rules @WNBA,” he wrote.
The former NBA center has taken his protest a step further by formally declaring himself eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft, a move intended to challenge the league over whether it would permit a biological male who identifies as transgender to compete against women.
Freedom’s campaign comes as the WNBA faces increasing scrutiny over its transgender eligibility policies and pressure to clarify whether biological males will be permitted to play in the league.
After Sunday’s game, Sky players were asked about Freedom’s removal. “There was just a fan incident, and the security handled it. We’re going to just focus on the game,” Chicago’s Azura Stevens told reporters and declined to answer follow-up questions about Freedom.