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Enes Kanter Freedom; Natasha Cloud Credit: Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty; Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
Enes Kanter Freedom was banned from Wintrust Arena on Tuesday, Aug. 25, one day after his altercation with Chicago Sky’s Natasha Cloud
The incident stemmed from Kanter Freedom’s criticism of transgender athletes and Cloud’s advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community
Kanter Freedom recently expressed interest in joining the WNBA amid debates over transgender athletes in women’s sports
Enes Kanter Freedom has been banned from Wintrust Arena in Chicago following his altercation with Chicago Sky point guard Natasha Cloud.
Kanter Freedom, 34, was banned on Tuesday, Aug. 25, following the altercation the previous day on Monday, Aug. 24, according to ESPN .
“[Kanter Freedom] has demonstrated to us unequivocally that he has the potential to be a threat,” Sky owner Michael Alter told reporters in Chicago, according to the outlet. “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,” Alter added, per ESPN.
The Chicago Sky were playing the Indiana Fever on Monday when the incident occurred. Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham has been a vocal opponent of transgender women in women’s sports, an issue that has sparked controversy in recent weeks. The Fever won the game 113-90.
Wearing a T-shirt that read, “WOMAN noun adult human female,” the former NBA journeyman was sitting courtside before a security guard escorted him from the premises. Kanter Freedom then appeared to engage with the crowd as they booed, and he seemingly mocked Cloud, 34.
The argument appeared to stem from Kanter Freedom’s criticism of transgender women competing in women’s sports, as Cloud has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I’m supporting women, and that is the reason they’re kicking me out,” Kanter Freedom told a group of arena officials and law enforcement officers in the Wintrust Arena lobby, according to The Athletic . “It’s unacceptable.”
Earlier this month, the self-described “human rights activist” announced his desire to play in the WNBA amid the ongoing debate about transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Enes Kanter Freedom and Natasha Cloud #9 of the Chicago Sky yell at one another during the second half between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena on August 23, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Credit: Michael Reaves/Getty
Sky coach Tyler Marsh reassured Cloud that her response did not distract the team on the court, PEOPLE previously reported.
“I told her she wasn’t,” Marsh said. “I told her that we all embrace her as someone that protects our team and protects people that need to be protected. So, Tash is always going to stand on that, and we stand for Tash.”
“There’s so much good things about this league and so many good things about the play of these players,” Coach Marsh added. “And if you come to a game, you should probably come to enjoy the basketball. That seems pretty simple to me. I think these players deserve that and have earned that.”
Cunningham, 30, recently responded to a question about why WNBA fans refer to her as “MAGA Barbie” for her anti-trans views. Cunningham acknowledged during an interview with ESPN that she gets “a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans.”
“And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’ ” Cunningham said before voicing support for anti-transgender policies in women’s sports.
“I think that I am here to extend love,” she then added. “But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the Chicago Sky and a rep for Kanter Freedom for comment.
Read the original article on People
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