CHICAGO — Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday night’s Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game after Sky guard Natasha Cloud confronted him over a shirt he wore at Wintrust Arena.
Freedom sat along the baseline wearing a black shirt that read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female.”
The incident occurred late in the third quarter after Cloud scored inside with 1:22 remaining. The Fever called a timeout, and Cloud then approached Freedom while yelling and pointing in his direction.
Freedom held his arms and stepped onto the court as security personnel and several Sky players moved between the two.
Security then escorted Freedom from the court area. He displayed the message on his shirt as he walked toward the lobby and later spoke with a group of police officers before leaving the arena.
The incident came amid an ongoing debate involving transgender participation in women’s sports. The WNBA recently criticized what it described as a “bad-faith” debate surrounding the issue.
Freedom and former NBA player Royce White declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft earlier this month, saying they identify as women.
