Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom was banned from future Chicago Sky games after getting into a heated argument with a player during a game.
Freedom played 11 seasons in the NBA, ending his stint in 2022. He’s recently taken up the cause of barring transgender athletes from sports not matching with their biological sex, and on Sunday attended a game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky wearing a shirt reading, “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” The former NBA star got into a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud in the third quarter, resulting in his ejection from the game.
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In a rare Tuesday press conference, Sky owner Michael Alter announced that Freedom was banned from Wintrust Arena for Sky games. The ban will remain in place, “unless sometime in the future he’s able to prove to us to our satisfaction that he is able to abide by our rules without being a potential threat.”
“It was pretty clear to us that his purpose of coming here was trying to be provocative and just see how much attention he could get and stir up and create,” Alter said.
The Sunday altercation began after Cloud made a basket late in the third quarter, then chest bumped teammate Aicha Coulibaly. She then abruptly turned in Freedom’s direction and began yelling and pointing at him.
Freedom, who was sitting courtside, stood up and extended his arms, presumably to showcase his shirt. He took one step onto the court, but security and players moved in between them. He was then ejected from the game.
Fever star Caitlin Clark said she didn’t witness the altercation.
“I didn’t see it. We were talking about the next play in our huddle,” she said. “So I think that’s probably a question for Chicago.”
Freedom protested after his removal, saying on social media that he had been kicked out “for supporting WOMEN!”
“Let that sink in, AMERICA!” he added.
People familiar with the matter told the New York Times that the WNBA isn’t expected to institute a league-wide ban.
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Freedom drew attention this month when he declared for the WNBA draft, claiming he identified as a woman, in a move meant to protest the league’s stance on transgender athletes.
The Fever has become a center of the controversy after guard Sophie Cunningham voiced her opposition to having transgender athletes in sports not aligned with their biological sex.
