WNBA Player Makes Transgender Pledge After Enes Kanter Freedom Confrontation

News admin August 24, 2026 0 Comments

WNBA Player Makes Transgender Pledge After Enes Kanter Freedom Confrontation

Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud posted a message supporting transgender-identifying people after her viral confrontation with former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom during Sunday night’s game ended with Freedom being ejected from the arena.

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

Her post came shortly after a mid-game confrontation in which she shouted at Freedom, who was seated by the baseline wearing a T-shirt defining a woman as an “adult human female.”

Cloud had just scored a basket with just over a minute left in the third quarter of Chicago’s game against the Indiana Fever when the Fever called a timeout. Cloud used the stoppage to approach Freedom and shout at him from the court. Freedom stood up and raised both arms while stepping toward the court before players and officials got between them.

Freedom was ultimately escorted from his courtside seat and spoke briefly with police before leaving Chicago’s Wintrust Arena. He later told OutKick that he believed his shirt had provoked Cloud’s outburst.

“I was cheering for my friend Sophie [Cunningham] because when she shot that three, I put my hands in the air,” Freedom told the outlet. “A couple possessions later, [Cloud] came back and said, ‘She’s not gonna sleep with you.’ And I was shocked. I was like, ‘Listen, I’m not trying to sleep with her. I think she’s awesome. She’s a good friend.’ But I think it has a lot to do with my shirt. I was obviously wearing a shirt explaining what a woman is, and I think that had a lot to do with what she thinks about women. I think it triggered her a lot.”

Fever shooting guard Sophie Cunningham has been the target of protests since she stood up for protecting women and girls in sports, and a number of other WNBA players and coaches have taken the opposite position.

The issue has also sparked confrontations involving fans. A Seattle Storm co-owner was accused of scolding teenage girls who wore XX-XY Athletics gear to a game, while a mother and daughter attending an Atlanta Dream game recently said they were told to cover up their XX-XY shirts or leave the arena.

Freedom entered the debate after reviewing the WNBA’s eligibility rules, claiming that he met the qualifications to declare for the 2027 WNBA draft. Fellow former NBA player Royce White followed with a nearly identical announcement, adding that he “sometimes” identified as a transgender woman and planned to sue for discrimination if he went undrafted.