Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, who says he is seeking a place in the WNBA, has spoken out after a heated courtside clash with Natasha Cloud during the Chicago Sky’s game against Sophie Cunningham and the Indiana Fever.
Cloud was restrained by security on Sunday night after approaching Freedom, who has claimed he declared for the WNBA Draft in response to league voices supporting transgender athletes competing in women’s basketball.
The confrontation unfolded in the second half at Wintrust Arena, where Cloud left the court area and moved toward Freedom, who was seated courtside in a presence that had already drawn controversy.
In a viral clip of the incident, the pair could be seen shouting at each other before the former New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder player stood up and held his arms out, as if he were welcoming the mid-game confrontation from Cloud, who was quickly stopped in her tracks by security.
Security personnel and teammates pulled the Chicago Sky guard away before she returned to play, while arena staff were later seen escorting Freedom from the venue.
Freedom, who is 6-foot-10, has since claimed Cloud started the exchange and alleged that she told him Cunningham “won’t sleep with you.”
WNBA player Natasha Cloud was held back by security after confronting Enes Kanter Freedom, who says he has declared for the WNBA Draft, during Sunday night’s game
Freedom claimed Cloud said Sophie Cunningham “won’t sleep with you”
Cloud approached Freedom as he sat courtside, leading to a tense argument
He told OutKick: ‘Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate. Literally, a couple [of] possessions later, Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling and said, “She’s not gonna sleep with you.”
‘And I was like, “I am not trying to sleep with her. I’m just here to protect women and support her.” And then, obviously, after that, she started yapping, and she started to walk towards me, and literally I just got up, and then I was like, “I’m just here to protect women, and that’s all.”
‘She started to yell. She started to use some very heavy language. She started to actually cuss, and I was very shocked that there were a lot of kids and that there were a lot of teenagers at that game.
‘I just cannot believe that she was just cussing and using those F-bombs in front of all these kids. I’m sure she’s loved in Chicago and many kids are idolizing her and stuff, but that’s not how a WNBA athlete should react.’
Taking to X after he was removed by security, Freedom wrote: ‘I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!’
He also wrote: ‘It’s always women hating on other women’.
Meanwhile, in another video, Freedom was seen arguing with security after being escorted away from his courtside seat, telling them, ‘This is unacceptable.’
Freedom, who has spent more than a decade in the NBA, recently sent shockwaves through women’s basketball after revealing he wants to play alongside the likes of Caitlin Clark.
Freedom appeared to welcome the confrontation from Sky star Cloud during the game
The pair could be seen yelling at each other mid-game at the Wintrust Arena on Sunday night
Earlier in the night, Freedom was confronted by furious fans as he arrived at the Wintrust Arena for the Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky clash.
He wore a provocative T-shirt that included a definition of the word woman. ‘Woman. Noun,’ it read. ‘Adult human female.’ The words woman and female were highlighted in red. And he was not given a warm welcome by everyone, with one fan calling the 34-year-old a ‘b**** a** n****’ and telling him to ‘get [his] b**** a** out of Chicago.’
Another said ‘f*** you b****,’ while a third held up their middle finger in the face of Freedom, who was flanked by police outside the arena. ‘We are getting attacked before the @WNBA game in Chicago,’ he posted alongside a video of the incident.
But the former Utah Jazz and New York Knicks star was greeted by cheers and high-fives from other fans in Chicago.
There have been regular protests and counter-protests at WNBA games in recent weeks, after Cunningham sparked controversy by claiming she wants to ‘protect young girls’ from ‘biological men.’
On Sunday in Chicago, there was a ‘save women’s sports party’ in support of Cunningham. Freedom stopped by to greet fans.
After making it inside Wintrust Arena, Freedom was pictured courtside as Cunningham and Clark faced a rematch with the Sky and DiJonai Carrington.
Earlier this month, Cunningham slammed Carrington for ‘playing’ the race ‘card’ after the Chicago Sky star appeared to suggest her rival benefited from ‘white privilege’ during a shocking fracas.
Earlier in the night, Freedom was confronted by fans as he arrived at the Fever-Sky clash
Carrington was ejected from the clash between the Sky and the Indiana Fever after her nasty foul left Cunningham bloodied and on the floor. Toward the end of the first quarter, Cunningham drove towards the basket, only to be struck in the face by Carrington’s arm.
The Sky star was assessed a flagrant 2 and sent to the locker room, with both Cunningham and her teammate Clark seen waving as Carrington headed off the court.
Minutes later, Carrington posted on social media ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever,’ sparking yet another WNBA scandal.
Meanwhile, Sky star Cloud made headlines of her own recently after launching a furious verbal tirade regarding the sex-toy-throwing incidents of late.
Speaking to reporters after Chicago’s victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Friday, Cloud did not hold back when asked about the recurring fan behavior.
‘It’s lame as f***; Sorry, mama,’ the 34-year-old veteran said.
‘And I just, man, and like, in most of these occasions, it’s men. And I want you to know that is the gayest thing that you can do is to go to a store, a sex shop, buy a d****, come to a women’s game to throw the d**** on the court.
‘That is the gayest s*** that I’ve ever heard. So I’m a firm believer in anyone that has so much problem with a certain marginalized group, just come out and say that you’re a part of our marginalized group because that hate is unwarranted. It’s not factual.
‘And it says more about the internal struggles of that individual than it ever will say about the collective group.’
This incident comes days after DiJonai Carrington’s hard foul on Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham
Cloud went on to call the perpetrators ‘extremely weak,’ stating that their actions fail to rattle the players on the court and instead reflect poorly on the fans responsible.
‘Y’all lame as s*** to us. Y’all gay to us and we see it,’ Cloud continued. ‘So keep throwing them if you just want to keep telling us you’re gay. You can come out. You’ll be happier. You’ll be nicer to people. You’ll be happier in your everyday life. You don’t need to go to therapy or none of that s***. Just be yourself.’
She concluded her postgame comments by questioning how the culprits explain the purchases on their financial records.
‘Y’all weird,’ she added. ‘Like it says d**** on their credit card. Like they have to go through their financial advisor and be like, ‘What’s this green d****? You good, Chad? You good, Richard? Are you good, Paul?’ Because it also is a certain demographic. Y’all cool? Are y’all cool? And don’t be running.’
