Megan Rapinoe has sharply criticized Enes Kanter Freedom, calling the former NBA player a “bad faith actor” as his highly controversial push toward the WNBA and his courtside confrontation with Natasha Cloud continue to draw attention.
Kanter has placed himself at the center of the ongoing debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports, a topic that has surrounded the WNBA in recent weeks, by attempting to use the league’s eligibility rules to enter next year’s draft.
The ex-New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder center was then involved in a tense exchange with Cloud while sitting courtside at Sunday night’s Chicago Sky matchup against Sophie Cunningham and the Indiana Fever.
Adding to the controversy, Kanter wore a pointed T-shirt printed with a definition of the word woman. It read: “Woman. Noun. Adult human female,” with the words “woman” and “female” emphasized in red.
Cloud approached Kanter during the game, and the interaction quickly escalated into a heated argument. Video of the moment spread widely online, showing both shouting as security restrained Cloud while Kanter stood and opened his arms. He was later removed from the arena.
Rapinoe, the former United States Women’s National Team star known for speaking openly on political and social issues — including past public clashes with President Trump — has now weighed in, delivering a blistering rebuke of Kanter on her podcast.
US soccer icon Megan Rapinoe accused Enes Kanter Freedom of acting in “bad faith”
Kanter, who has said he intends to enter the WNBA Draft, was involved in a courtside clash with Natasha Cloud
The two-time World Cup winner said in a sarcastic tone: ‘He later, in continuing the absolute grift that was this whole thing, gave some quotes to OutKick Sports and Fox News – no surprise there – saying that he was just out there to protect women. Well, oh my God, thank you so much because that’s what we were asking for.
‘In fairness, you did warn us about men forcing their way into WNBA spaces. Lo and behold… Oh, you weren’t talking about yourself? OK. People who are “trying to protect women.” First of all, from who? From who? It’s yourself. It’s a big mirror. Y’all are the same people who were, like, s****ing on the league and its athletes from before, saying it was bad business and no one cared. You’re the same people who were banning people from playing soccer in the 1950s. You’re the same type of people.
‘Oh, but now they care about it a lot, don’t they? Because they’re seeing the success and the power the league has, and they’re seeing how popular it is and seeing how everybody loves it and how lit of a space it is. So, now they really care. So, they are going to try and continue coming after the W and other women’s sports leagues and its athletes after seeing all the power they have.’
Rapinoe then accused Freedom and fellow ex-NBA star Royce White of being ‘bad-faith actors’ as they try to publicly pursue a spot in the WNBA.
She continued: ‘This is not the same old story of, “Well, this is just online, or it’s just trolls, it’s just bots. It’s not actually happening.” No, it’s actually happening. They’re doing rallies before the game, they’re coming onto the court. They’re buying tickets. They’re in there – they’re not just trolls. They’re showing up in real life.
‘They want a mechanism to continue tearing down women period and women’s sports. I hate that this is true and I desperately want for us to get to a place where women athletes can just be left alone and be great and be paid well. People can come and watch and just be respected. But that is clearly not where we are.
‘The rise in women’s sports and the rise of the popularity in all these sports leagues, particularly the W, has come hand-in-hand with the rise of this hate and discrimination. It’s why it’s important for us as women athletes to continue to speak out about these issues and continue to do it together to show a united and collective fight.
‘Let’s make one thing clear: We do not need men in the WNBA, or women’s sports in general, to make it successful.’
Kanter Freedom was subsequently ejected and later banned from Wintrust Arena
The ex-NBA player wore a provocative t-shirt with a definition of a woman at the game
Kanter’s efforts to play in the WNBA were dealt a blow earlier this week when league bosses ruled him ineligible for the 2027 draft.
A league source said it is ‘not going to give oxygen to efforts designed to mock the league or use this topic to demean and marginalize others’, calling it a ‘publicity stunt’, per Front Office Sports.
He has also been banned from the Chicago Sky’s arena, team owner Michael Alter announced on Tuesday following the incident with Cloud.
‘He has demonstrated to us, unequivocally, that he has the potential to be a threat,’ Alter said, via ESPN.
He added that the only way he will ever be permitted to return is if ‘sometime in the future, he’s able to prove to us that he’s able to abide by our rules without being a potential threat.’
