Enes Kanter Freedom sat courtside at Sunday’s Fever-Sky game wearing a shirt that read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” Late in the third quarter, Sky guard Natasha Cloud walked straight toward him, shouting and pointing, before security intervened and Freedom was ejected.
With 1:22 left in the quarter, Cloud scored inside, chest-bumped a teammate, then turned and headed toward Freedom. He stood, spread his arms and stepped onto the court as security and several Sky players moved between them. While being escorted out, Freedom turned around and held his shirt out toward the crowd. He later spoke with police before leaving Wintrust Arena.
Freedom, 34, and Cloud, also 34, had never faced each other on a basketball court. The former NBA center had attended a rally outside the arena earlier that day supporting Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who told ESPN last month that she opposes transgender girls and women competing in women’s sports. Freedom and fellow former NBA player Royce White have both declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, saying they identify as women. The WNBA has never had a transgender player.
“There was just a fan incident and the security handled it, and we’re just going to focus on the game,” Sky forward Azura Stevens said after Chicago’s 113-90 loss.
Caitlin Clark said she missed the confrontation entirely. “I didn’t see it. We were talking about the next play in our huddle,” the Indiana star said. Cloud met with team and league security afterward but did not speak to reporters.
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