If Enes Kanter Freedom came to Sunday’s Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever game hoping to make headlines, he certainly didn’t leave empty-handed. The former NBA player, who bizarrely announced his intention to enter the WNBA draft, was reportedly sitting peacefully in the stands at Wintrust Arena when the evening suddenly took a bad turn.

Security approached and escorted him out of the arena, turning his latest WNBA involvement into yet another headline. But the tension continued in the lobby, and Front Office Sports reporter Colin Salao shared a video of Kanter Freedom arguing. Much of that exchange was difficult to hear, but one comment was clear.

“I’m supporting women, that is the reason they’re kicking me out,” Freedom could be heard telling security,” as per Salao. “This is unacceptable.”

Here is what happened. With 1:22 remaining in the third quarter, cameras caught the Sky’s Natasha Cloud looking toward Kanter Freedom after making a basket and appearing to say something in his direction. That interaction escalated within seconds. Cloud started yelling and pointed fingers straight at him.

Kanter Freedom responded with his arms out and took a step forward. He was wearing a T-shirt displaying a simple definition: “Woman: Adult human female.” The words “woman” and “female” were highlighted in red, making the message stand out. It is possible that his T-shirt was something that triggered Cloud.

Players and security stepped between the two of them to prevent the confrontation from becoming physical. Cloud was visibly frustrated, while several personnel escorted Kanter Freedom away from the seats and toward the lobby. The former NBA star quickly addressed his ejection on social media.

“I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA! 🇺🇸,” Kanter Freedom wrote on X.

He followed that up with another tweet: “It’s always women hating on other women.”

But truth be told, Kanter Freedom’s night had already taken a tense turn even before he entered Wintrust Arena. He shared footage on social media showcasing several hostile exchanges with fans near the arena’s entrance.

“We are getting attacked before the @WNBA game in Chicago,” Freedom wrote alongside the video of people trying to approach him. One person could be heard hurling insults at him, while another made an offensive finger gesture.

Sky coach Tyler Marsh commented on what took place during the game after assuring the player that she wasn’t being a “distraction” herself for reacting.

“I told [Cloud] that we all embrace her as someone that protects our team and protects people that need to be protected, and so Tash is always going to stand on that, and we stand for Tash,” Marsh said.

When asked if he had a specific message for Kanter Freedom, Marsh briefly responded, “If you come to a game, you should probably come to enjoy the basketball, and 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.”

Caitlin Clark admitted she “didn’t see it” and was only focused on “talking about the next play in our huddle” at the time. The Fever star concluded, saying, “That’s probably a question for Chicago.”

Meanwhile, Cloud chose not to speak to the media, but she did have an emergency meeting with the team and league security. She also typed a message of support on Threads for the transgender community.

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

Did Enes Kanter Freedom provoke Natasha Cloud?

Tricia Smith, a WNBA fan seated next to Enes Kanter Freedom, claimed that he didn’t do anything to instigate what followed.

“Natasha Cloud scored. She came over and threw her hands up and was talking s*** to his face,” said Smith, a Boise, Idaho, native. “So he stood up and said, like, ‘What? What do you want?’ He didn’t do a thing. I’ve sat next to him the whole game. He’s a great guy.”

Smith also admitted she didn’t even know who Kanter Freedom was before the game, but once she did, they had probably taken “50 pictures” at the game.

Kanter Freedom later explained the situation to Outkick, saying that he was there to support Sophie Cunningham, whose comments about inclusion started the entire saga.

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

“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.’”

“She started to yell. She started to use some very heavy language. She started to actually cuss, and I was very shocked that there were a lot of kids and that there were a lot of teenagers at that game,” Freedom said.

Kanter Freedom and Natasha Cloud have had a back-and-forth with each other at least once prior to last night. More than three years ago, the WNBA star called the country “trash” on X after the Supreme Court rejected the use of race in college admissions as a violation of the 14th Amendment, according to The Athletic.

Days later, Kanter Freedom responded with a long message on the same platform offering opposing views: “People have NO idea how lucky and blessed they are to be in a country like America.”

It is unclear whether the two of them have spoken in real life, outside of social media, before the Sky-Fever game.

Kanter Freedom has led to serious discussions in the W; Engelbert dubs chaos “political football”

Enes Kanter Freedom has been in the spotlight since announcing his intention to enter the WNBA draft. Article XIII, Section 1(a) of the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but the agreement does not clearly address how eligibility is determined in situations involving gender identity or sex assigned at birth.

That said, it is not just Kanter Freedom, but former NBA players Royce White and Larry Sanders have similarly challenged WNBA eligibility rules using the league’s self-identification guidelines.

The league even had a meeting with its “anti-hate task force.” But said afterward that “no immediate eligibility matters face the WNBA,” leaving questions about how it would handle a situation involving Freedom and other NBA stars.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert mentioned that outsiders are using her women’s league to “sow divisiveness.”

“We’re being the center of political football for people who have never watched the WNBA, never have written about the WNBA or reported on the WNBA,” Engelbert said.

The WNBA has also not admitted Freedom or any former NBA star into the next year’s W draft pool yet. It has also said it strongly condemns bad-faith efforts to use such issues to marginalize others.