CHICAGO — Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from his courtside seat during the Indiana Fever’s 113-90 win over the Chicago Sky on Sunday after getting into a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. 

Late in the third quarter, Cloud drove to the basket and converted a tough finish that drew a timeout from Fever coach Stephanie White. As players from both teams went to their respective benches, Cloud began pointing and yelling at Kanter Freedom, who stood up and walked toward the court. 

An official and security personnel immediately jumped in, and Cloud’s teammates arrived to pull her away from the situation. The official gestured for Kanter Freedom to be ejected and both team and arena security escorted him away from his seat. He tried to protest in an area behind the courtside seating for a short period before eventually leaving to a chorus of boos and middle fingers.

Kanter Freedom — who was wearing a black t-shirt that read “woman noun adult human female” — has used social media to become part of the conversation around transgender athletes.

In the wake of Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments about transgender athletes, Kanter Freedom has spent the past few weeks agitating to be eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft, along with fellow former NBA player Royce White. Both Kanter Freedom and White have claimed that they now identify as women. Kanter Freedom spent 11 years playing in the NBA, most recently for the Celtics in the 2021-22 season. The Türkiye native added Freedom to his name when he became an American citizen in 2021. 

CBS Sports spoke to sources around the league who said they do not think the eligibility of Kanter Freedom and White is a legitimate matter and view their recent actions as publicity stunts.

Cloud and Sky coach react

Cloud did not speak with the media after Sunday’s game. She did meet with team and league security. She later made a statement on social media. 

“To every trans kid/person, You are apart of MY community & tribe. You belong. You’re loved. You’re seen. You’re perfect as you are. & you will always be protected by me,” Cloud wrote. 

“I talked to the team and Tash didn’t want to feel like she was a distraction. I told her she wasn’t,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said in his post-game press conference. “I told her we all embrace her as someone who protects our team and people who need to be protected. Tash is always gonna stand on that and we stand for Tash.”

“There’s so many good things about this league and so many good things about the play of these players, that if you come to a game, you should probably come to enjoy the basketball,” Marsh added. “That seems pretty simple to me. I think these players deserve that and have earned that. Being a former basketball player, you should probably understand and feel that too.”

Fever star Caitlin Clark said that she did not see the incident, and both she and Lexie Hull shook their heads no when asked if Kanter Freedom had said anything to them during the game. Fever coach Stephanie White said that it is “important that people like you guys in this room don’t give it any gas. It’s a social media thing.”

This is not the first time that Cloud and Kanter Freedom have crossed paths. In 2023, the two went back and forth on social media after Cloud criticized the United States government.  

WNBA has called out ‘bad-faith efforts’

The WNBA has become a battleground for the debate about transgender athletes over the last month after Cunningham said in an ESPN profile that she wants to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.” 

Later, Cunningham doubled down prior to the Fever’s win over the Connecticut Sun on July 22. “I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” she said. “And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said.”

Cunningham added that she doesn’t “dislike anyone” and that there’s “room to love everyone.” She continued, “I’m also there to love biological women, and I think that there are rights that need to be protected. And, like I said, I’m gonna stand true to that. I’ll never falter in my beliefs in that. But I have never once stated that I hated the trans community.”

The WNBA has never had a transgender player and does not have a public policy about transgender participation. The new collective bargaining agreement states simply that, “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” 

Earlier this month, the WNBA convened a task force to discuss the issue and made a statement that read, in part, “We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league. There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others.”