Former NBA star and fearless free speech warrior Enes Kanter Freedom was dragged out of Wintrust Arena Sunday night during the Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game after a heated courtside confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud.
Freedom was seated along the baseline at Wintrust Arena wearing a black shirt that displayed a basic biological definition:
“WOMAN — noun. adult human female.”
Careful what you wish for, @WNBA
Freedom of speech never looked this good. 💅🏽
Somehow controversial.🤷🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/TZRa2M3mxc
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) August 24, 2026
Apparently, that message was too much for the increasingly unhinged WNBA.
The confrontation erupted in the third quarter after Cloud scored inside for Chicago. As the Fever called a timeout, Cloud turned toward Freedom, began pointing at him, and shouted in his direction.
Freedom stood up, held out his arms, and took one step toward the court as security personnel, game officials, and several Chicago players rushed between them.
An official then ordered Freedom removed from his courtside seat.
WATCH:
The 6-foot-10 former NBA center briefly protested before security escorted him toward the lobby. He held out his shirt for the crowd to see as hostile Chicago fans booed, jeered, and flashed obscene gestures.
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom was escorted out of Wintrust Arena on Sunday evening after Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud confronted him at his courtside baseline seat.
Late in the third quarter of a game between the Sky and the Indiana Fever, Cloud scored on a driving… pic.twitter.com/2CA4Awv6wO
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 24, 2026
Freedom later spoke with police officers before leaving the arena, according to NBC San Diego.
Freedom immediately responded on X:
“I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!”
I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN!
Let that sink in, AMERICA! 🇺🇸
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) August 24, 2026
He followed that up with another brutal jab:
“It’s always women hating on other women.”
It’s always women hating on other women.
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) August 24, 2026
Cloud refused to speak with reporters after the game but reportedly met with league and team security.
Chicago Sky coach Tyler Marsh defended Cloud, claiming she was protecting her teammates and “people who need to be protected.”
More from Fox News:
Freedom, who was sitting near the baseline at Wintrust Arena, said the confrontation began after he celebrated a 3-pointer by Fever guard Sophie Cunningham.
“Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate,” Freedom said. “Literally, a couple possessions later, Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling and said, ‘She’s not gonna sleep with you.’
“And I was like, ‘I am not trying to sleep with her. I’m just here to protect women and support her.’ And then, obviously, after that she started yapping, and she started to walk towards me, and literally I just got up, and then I was like, ‘I’m just here to protect women, and that’s all.’”
[…]
“She started to yell. She started to use some very heavy language. She started to actually cuss, and I was very shocked that there were a lot of kids and that there were a lot of teenagers at that game,” Freedom said.
“I just cannot believe that she was just cussing and using those F-bombs in front of all these kids. I’m sure she’s loved in Chicago and many kids are idolizing her and stuff, but that’s not how a WNBA athlete should react.”
[…]
“I was cheering for my friend Sophie because when she shot that three, I put my hands in the air,” Freedom said. “A couple possessions later, she came back and said, ‘She’s not gonna sleep with you.’ And I was shocked. I was like, ‘Listen, I’m not trying to sleep with her. I think she’s awesome. She’s a good friend.’ But I think it has a lot to do with my shirt.
The Fever went on to demolish the Sky 113-90.
Freedom and Cloud have a history.
In 2023, Cloud infamously declared that America was “trash in so many ways.” Freedom, who personally experienced political persecution under Turkey’s authoritarian regime, fired back and offered to buy her a ticket to countries including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, and Turkey.
“People have NO idea how lucky and blessed they are to be in a country like America,” Freedom wrote at the time.
Just ask your colleague Brittney Griner how “trash” America is.
Calling America trash huh?
Let me know when your season is over, I’ll buy your ticket and we can go together to counties like China, Russia, IRAN, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, & Turkey.
Forget about calling them… https://t.co/A3Kfojx9jQ— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) July 3, 2023
The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Freedom declared himself eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft after reviewing the league’s vague eligibility framework.
“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” Freedom said.
Former NBA player Royce White later issued a similar challenge.
The league’s collective bargaining agreement merely states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but it provides no detailed public definition addressing biological sex or gender identity. No transgender player has ever played in the WNBA.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert responded to Freedom and White by sending teams a memo describing the participation of biological males in women’s basketball as a “complex and nuanced topic.”
A WNBA task force subsequently met to discuss transgender eligibility but reached no decision.
The league announced it would need additional “weeks and months” to determine who belongs in its women’s basketball league.
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