Enes Kanter Freedom Reveals What Led To WNBA Courtside Confrontation

Former NBA player and current WNBA prospect Enes Kanter Freedom said Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud made a crude remark toward him. Moments later, the two were in a viral courtside confrontation that ended with Freedom being ejected from the arena.

The wild scene unfolded during Sunday night’s game between the Sky and the Indiana Fever.

Freedom told OutKick that his heated confrontation with Cloud began shortly after Freedom celebrated Fever guard Sophie Cunningham nailing a three-pointer in the third quarter. Freedom was in attendance to support Cunningham, wearing a shirt that stated the definition of a woman as “adult human female.”

“Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate. Literally, a couple possessions later, Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling and said, ‘She’s not gonna sleep with you.’” Kanter told OutKick. “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.’”

Video of the heated exchange showed Cloud approach Freedom as her teammates rushed to hold her back. Freedom stood with his arms outstretched and exchanged words with Cloud before arena security stepped in front of him and led him to the exit.

“She started to actually cuss,” Freedom added. “And I was very shocked. There were a lot of kids and there were a lot of teenagers at that game, and I just cannot believe that she was just cussing and using those F-bombs in front of all these kids.”

The former NBA forward said that he asked security why they were forcing him to leave since Cloud instigated the confrontation. As he was forced out of the arena, Freedom said he also spoke to police officers.

The fiery exchange came as the WNBA grapples with the question of allowing men into the women’s league. While no trans-identifying men currently play in the WNBA, the increasing number of men dominating other women’s sports has sparked debate about whether the WNBA should address the issue. Last month, Cunningham made comments on protecting girls’ and women’s sports that thrust the issue into the spotlight in the WNBA.

“I’m not a very political person, but I do have beliefs,” she said. “I have morals, and I’ll always stand on those and be true to who I am, and I think people are going to take it how they want to take it. … When it comes to protecting young girls in sport and women in sport, I feel very strongly about that.”

Freedom, along with former NBA player Royce White, have backed Cunningham during the controversy and recently declared for the WNBA draft in an attempt to force the league’s hand on the issue. The WNBA, however, has refused to take a stand on keeping men out of the league and held a meeting on transgender athletes earlier this month, but came to no conclusion on men playing in women’s sports.