Just when you thought the WNBA couldn’t produce another bizarre storyline, Enes Kanter Freedom got ejected from a game he wasn’t even playing in.
Yes, seriously.
The former NBA center was sitting courtside for Sunday’s game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky when he got into a heated confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter.
Freedom was sitting along the baseline wearing a shirt that read “WOMAN noun. adult human female,” continuing his very public criticism of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Then things escalated.
After Cloud scored with 1:22 remaining in the third quarter, Indiana called timeout. Cloud celebrated with teammate Aicha Coulibaly before turning toward Freedom, pointing in his direction and yelling at him.
Freedom stood up and moved toward the court with his arms extended, and security and Chicago players quickly got between the two before the situation could escalate any further.
Security eventually escorted Freedom out of Wintrust Arena.
Think about that sentence for a second.
A former NBA player attended a WNBA game wearing a controversial shirt, got into an argument with an actual player during the game and was kicked out of the building.
But there is obviously much more behind this than one courtside argument.
Freedom has recently made headlines by announcing his intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, claiming he identifies as a woman as part of his protest against transgender inclusion policies in women’s sports. His announcement was widely understood as a political statement rather than a conventional attempt at a basketball comeback.
That context made his appearance in Chicago especially contentious.
Freedom later claimed the confrontation initially started after he celebrated a Sophie Cunningham 3-pointer. According to Freedom, Cloud subsequently directed a vulgar remark toward him before the confrontation escalated. That’s Freedom’s account of the exchange, and should be treated as such.
Cloud did not speak during Chicago’s postgame media availability, but later posted a message expressing her support for transgender people and saying they would always be protected by her.
So what started as a basketball game between the Fever and Sky quickly turned into another chapter in one of the most polarizing debates surrounding women’s sports.
And regardless of which side of that debate you’re on, the actual scene was absolutely ridiculous.
Cloud is in the middle of an actual WNBA game.
Freedom is sitting courtside.
The two start yelling at each other.
Players and security have to separate them.
And then a former NBA center gets ejected from a WNBA arena.
We’ve officially reached the point where you really have no idea what you’re going to see at a WNBA game anymore.
