Ever since Sophie Cunningham’s stance on transgender athletes in women’s sports ignited a debate around inclusivity in the WNBA, the conversation has only continued to spiral. Arenas are now starting to feel like political battlegrounds, with Sunday’s Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky matchup becoming the latest example. Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom and Sky star Natasha Cloud got into a heated verbal altercation, which eventually led to Freedom being kicked out of the arena.

So, as the attention was once again pulled away from the game of basketball, former NFL star Shannon Sharpe discussed Freedom’s motives on the latest episode of Nightcap.

“He’s rage-baiting, then he gonna run to Fox News and talk about – ‘see just what I’m talking about. They’re not inclusive. They want to have their cake and eat it too. And yada, yada, yada, yada, yada.’ If you were good, you still be in the NBA… His own home country don’t want him back,” Sharpe said.

Freedom, in his last season in the NBA, averaged only 3.7 points, starting only one of the 35 games he played for the Boston Celtics. Over his 11-year NBA career, Freedom was a decent rotational player, averaging 11.2 points with 7.8 rebounds, but was never a generational talent. Sharpe acknowledged this and went on to speak about what he thought Kanter’s intentions were.

“Man, people just want their 15 minutes of fame and just go to just carry on and carry on. Like bro, I don’t get it, I don’t get it, and then you wear the t-shirt knowing that you gonna enrage people. I don’t get his angle. But hey, like I said, as his last name says, ‘freedom.’ He believes in freedom, and all this other stuff. I guess we just agree to disagree, and that’s okay,” he added.

Freedom has been a major talking point in the broader debate over trans athletes in women’s sports ever since he announced that he identifies as a woman and declared for the 2027 WNBA draft. So, when he showed up to Sunday’s game wearing a shirt that read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female,” it did not take long for the situation to escalate.

During a timeout in the third quarter, Natasha Cloud walked toward the area where Freedom was sitting and began yelling and pointing in his direction, which eventually ended with him being escorted out of the arena.

“I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!” he later shared on X. “It’s always women hating on other women.”

Cloud, meanwhile, was unavailable to speak to the media after the game, leaving her side of the incident unaddressed in the immediate aftermath. But Sky head coach Tyler Marsh made it clear that the Sky stand behind their veteran guard.

“I told her that we all embrace her as someone that protects our team, and protects people that need to be protected. So Tash is always gonna stand on that and we stand for Tash,” the coach said during his post-game media availability.

Natasha Cloud did, however, address the incident on social media.

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

With Freedom technically attending as a fan and Cloud being the player who confronted him, the incident leaves the WNBA with an awkward situation to navigate. Yet beyond what happened Sunday, the debate over who can play in the league is clearly not going away anytime soon.