Over the past month, Enes Kanter Freedom has been at odds with the WNBA’s eligibility system. Following Sophie Cunningham’s revelation that she didn’t like the idea of trans athletes participating in women’s sports on July 21, Freedom has come out in support of the Fever star. After declaring himself a prospect for the 2027 WNBA draft on August 7, the former Boston Celtics player was ejected from the Fever vs. Chicago Sky game on Sunday. As the clip of the incident went viral, another former NFL player, Robert Griffin III, thought Freedom was at fault.
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With the Indiana Fever leading 81-75 in the third quarter, Sky star Natasha Cloud lost her cool and approached the ex-Celtics player at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. As she approached the stands where Freedom was sitting, he stood up to confront Cloud before the officials and security stepped in.
“Enes Kanter is causing more harm and damage to the women he claims he is trying to protect. THIS is lame,” Griffin wrote in a blunt statement, while sharing the viral clip via his podcast page Outta Pocket with RGIII.
The crowd naturally erupted following his sequence with Cloud. And all the while, the Turkish international was wearing a T-shirt featuring a definition of the word “woman”.
“WOMAN noun. adult human female,” was written on the T-shirt.
Kanter’s choice to wear the T-shirt was no coincidence, as he has been forcing the WNBA’s hand to define what a “woman” is and who is eligible to play in the league. This has been one of his central arguments since the very first video he released declaring his eligibility for the draft.
“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” Freedom said in his original video.
Despite the WNBA condemning Enes Kanter Freedom’s antics as a “bad-faith” argument, the former NBA player has only doubled down on his stance. Following the WNBA releasing its official response on August 12, Freedom has explained that he has actually spoken to other male basketball players who may be considering following in his footsteps.
“So far, I’ve spoken with: 2 Former NBA players, 3 G-League players, 3 European players. They have all said that if the WNBA doesn’t change the rules, they’re ready to join the movement.”
Now the verbal altercations with Natasha Cloud and ejection from the game are only the latest chapter in Enes Kanter Freedom’s push to make the WNBA clearly define trans athlete eligibility in their CBA.
Meanwhile, following his initial post, Griffin III later returned to the subject with another post, saying, “EVERYTHING but basketball is leading the conversation about the WNBA, and it’s a disservice to the incredible women playing night in and night out.”
Regardless of the argument once again overshadowing the basketball on display, the Indiana Fever’s 113-90 victory over the Chicago Sky was a highlight. Despite the conversation on social media, Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell once again powered their team to the win, scoring 37 and 30 points, respectively. In fact, Clark reached another milestone, scoring a career-high of 8 three-pointers (on 12) in a single game.