Stephen A. Smith did a sharp reversal on his previous support to former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom following the headline-making altercation at the recent Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever game. He effectively labelled Freedom’s direct confrontation with WNBA players as “classless” and “excessive.” While condemning the courtside confrontation involving Sky veteran Natasha Cloud, Smith felt the debate has gone out of hand.
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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Smith addressed the incident at Wintrust Arena, where Kanter, in a shirt that read “WOMAN noun. adult human female,” engaged in a heated exchange with Cloud that led to his ejection from the arena. He pretty much slammed Kanter for taking his stance to a WNBA game.
“According to the letter of the language of the law, you could actually get away with it. And that needs to be clarified. Clearly, that’s a political position to take,” Smith said. “And I think on one hand, Enes Kanter was very wrong. It was a classless thing for him to do because… the ladies that are playing don’t have anything to do with this. The league does… But the actual ladies that are involved, they have nothing to do with this, and they don’t deserve to be agitated the way he clearly was willing to do in attendance at the game. It wasn’t just about him standing, but he was just about to step to her. You’ve got no business doing that.”
Smith emphasized that Freedom’s grievance should be directed at league leadership rather than the athletes on the floor.
“That was just excessive. Although I get his point, I see his point, I understand his point, the point is it was excessive. And you know that, and it was agitating them. They don’t deserve that. Not the ladies actually playing, they don’t deserve that.”
He further justified Cloud’s reaction saying, “Natasha Cloud reacted the way that she did because you essentially mocking WNBA players when, in fact, what you really, who you really should be mocking is the league and its collective bargaining agreement, not the actual players.”
Smith added. “Enes Kanter could do better than that… Again, to the letter of the law in terms of the statement that he was trying to make, I got it. I understand it. And when Stephen Jackson said what he said, I couldn’t disagree with what Stephen Jackson said.”
Smith later doubled down on social media, posting, “Enes Kanter, you can do better than THAT. I understand the argument. I understand the perspective. But the WNBA players didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle.”
Freedom’s courtside ejection comes after he and former NBA player Royce White announced intentions to declare for the WNBA draft as a satirical protest against the league’s eligibility criteria.
Freedom’s actions at the Sky-Fever game drew sharp criticism across the basketball community. As Smith mentioned, Stephen Jackson went on an explicit rant questioning Kanter’s motives.
Former 15-year NBA veteran Kenyon Martin called the courtside harassment “uncalled” for, stating that players were simply trying to do their jobs. Former Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner similarly questioned his ex-teammate on social media, posting, “Enes, What are you doing brother?”.
In contrast, media personalities such as Shannon Sharpe and Joe Johnson questioned whether Freedom attended the game solely to generate headlines as an agitator.
Despite criticizing Freedom’s execution, Smith previously voiced support for the core statement Freedom and White were attempting to make. In his previous video, Smith argued that while their declarations were “an act of trolling to some degree,” he claimed they are pushing the WNBA to clarify the ambiguity in the CBA.