Enes Kanter Freedom banned by Chicago Sky after altercation with Natasha Cloud
Enes Kanter Freedom, a former NBA player who has recently gained notoriety for his vocal opposition to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, has been indefinitely banned from Chicago Sky home games after a recent verbal altercation with a player and ejection from the arena, team owner Michael Alter told The Athletic.
The WNBA will not institute a league-wide ban on Freedom, according to a source with knowledge of the decision, who spoke under condition of anonymity because they are not permitted to speak publicly on the matter.
Freedom, wearing a shirt that read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female,” sat courtside at Wintrust Arena for the Sky’s game against the Indiana Fever. Alter said Freedom turned himself into a “potential threat” by stepping toward Cloud after she chirped when she made a basket in the third quarter. Security restrained Cloud, then removed Freedom from the arena.
Alter said the Sky might reconsider the ban “if someday he’s able to demonstrate he’s capable of being at a game and conducting himself in compliance with our rules and not be a threat to people.”
Earlier this month, Freedom, who played 11 seasons in the NBA before being waived by the Houston Rockets in 2022, announced he intended to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft in protest of transgender women competing in the league. Royce White, who was drafted No. 16 by the Rockets in the 2012 NBA Draft but played only three games in the league, followed with his own declaration.
The WNBA CBA does not outline specific eligibility requirements as it pertains to transgender women competing in the league, but it states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” There are no transgender women playing in the WNBA. Both Kanter and White are ineligible to compete in the WNBA, as outlined by the CBA and confirmed by sources around the league to The Athletic.
The topic of transgender athlete inclusion has sparked small demonstrations — both for and against — outside Fever road games since Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham’s views against trans athletes in women’s sports appeared in an ESPN article. There was another rally before Sunday’s game in Chicago, and Freedom was seen getting heckled outside of the arena before tip-off.
Freedom appeared with conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle” Monday night and said he texted with Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca before the game to alert the team of his planned attendance. Alter said after hearing from Freedom’s manager (not Freedom directly), Pagliocca immediately alerted Sky ownership and security.
Pagliocca, who became the Sky’s general manager after a lengthy career training professional athletes in the NBA and WNBA, formerly trained Freedom. Alter said the two had not spoken in “three or four years.” Alter said he regrets not informing players about Freedom’s attendance before the game, but he had worried it would be a distraction. The Sky were unaware of where his seat was located.
Alter said he was pleased with arena and league security acting with Chicago Police Department officers to take swift action to remove Freedom.
“The whole thing changed when he decided to get up,” Alter said. “I heard him say, ‘I got up and I took a step, but I never crossed the baseline.’ The security’s job isn’t to wait to see how far they get before they do something. It’s to get there before that happens and avoid it. He should know that as well as anybody having played in the NBA.”
The Sky had opted to add a third security guard for this game specifically after an Aug. 8 contest in the Fever that involved a controversial ejection of Sky guard DiJonai Carrington. A Sky spokesperson said security measures will be decided on a game-by-game basis going forward.
Freedom has a long history of being outspoken on political and societal issues.
When he was waived by the Rockets, he claimed it was because of his views on the Chinese government — an accusation NBA commissioner Adam Silver denied. Born in Switzerland to Turkish immigrants and raised in Turkey before moving to the U.S. as a teen, he has publicly criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, and called out the NBA for conducting business with China despite human rights abuses. He called for the U.S. to boycott the 2022 Olympics in China, and added “Freedom” to his name the same year.
Freedom’s ejection from the Sky game was the second incident over the course of the weekend in which a game at Wintrust Arena was disrupted. The first occurred on Friday during the Sky’s game against the Golden State Valkyries when several sex toys were thrown onto the court in the third quarter. Alter said the team has visually identified the perpetrators using security images, but they don’t have their names.
“Our intention is to continue until we find them,” Alter said. “We will prosecute them once we do.”