Two days after ejecting Enes Kanter Freedom from Wintrust Arena during a game, the Chicago Sky announced Tuesday that they have banned the former NBA player from the building.
Kanter Freedom, sitting courtside during the Sky's 113-90 loss to the Indiana Fever on Sunday, stood up and took a step onto the court with his arms outstretched after Sky guard Natasha Cloud began pointing and yelling at him at the start of an Indiana timeout.
A game official and security personnel got between them, and her
teammates pulled Cloud away. The official gestured for Kanter Freedom to be ejected, and he was escorted from his seat by team and arena security.
Kanter Freedom, 34, wore a black T-shirt that read: "WOMAN noun. Adult human female."
Sky owner Michael Alter spoke with media Tuesday and said Kanter Freedom started to "chirp" and "engage" Cloud and that he believed Kanter Freedom was hoping to provoke Cloud, who is a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.
"He has demonstrated to us unequivocally that he has the potential to be a threat," Alter said, according to reports. "That he is not able to control himself to the extent where we can be comfortable that he may (not) step towards the court again and towards the players.
"So that is the basis for which we will not permit him into the building until such time as he can prove otherwise."
Cloud, 34, posted a statement on social media after the game.
"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," Cloud wrote.
Kanter Freedom, who had a conversation with police officers before exiting Wintrust Arena, later wrote on his X account, "I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, America."
Kanter Freedom, formerly known as Enes Kanter, played center for 11 years in the NBA for five teams from 2011-12 to 2021-22 and averaged 11.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 21.5 minutes in 748 regular-season games (259 starts).
He also has spoken out on social issues, including the debate about transgender athletes. The WNBA, which has never had a known transgender player, has been ensnared in the issue, only heightened when the Fever's Sophie Cunningham came out strongly in favor of women's sports being solely for women.
Kanter Freedom and another former NBA player, Royce White, declared their intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, and both claimed to now identify as women. But multiple reports Monday said that the league considers them ineligible for the draft, though Kanter Freedom told the New York Post that he has not been notified of any such decision.
--Field Level Media
