Enes Kanter Freedom, the former NBA center who has declared for the WNBA Draft, says Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud started their furious courtside argument during Sunday night's game between the Sky and the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Cloud had to be pulled back by security after confronting Freedom, who was sitting courtside during the second half. Freedom said Cloud told him that Fever guard Sophie Cunningham "won't sleep with you," an exchange caught on video that quickly went viral.
In the clip, the pair could be seen shouting at each other before Freedom stood up and held out his arms, appearing to welcome the confrontation. Security eventually stepped in and separated them.
Cloud was dragged away by security and teammates before returning to the game, while Freedom was escorted out of the arena by staff.
Freedom Reveals What Sparked the Clash
Freedom told OutKick exactly what set off the argument. "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,'" he said.
"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," Freedom said.
"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."
After he was removed by security, Freedom wrote on X: "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."
In a separate video, Freedom was seen arguing with security as he was escorted from his seat, telling them, "This is unacceptable."
Freedom, who spent more than a decade in the NBA, recently said he wants to play alongside Caitlin Clark, a declaration that sent shockwaves through women's basketball.
Fans Confront Freedom Outside the Arena
Earlier that night, Freedom was confronted by furious fans as he arrived at Wintrust Arena for the Fever-Sky game. He wore a T-shirt printed with a definition of the word woman: "Woman. Noun. Adult human female," with the words woman and female highlighted in red.
Not everyone welcomed him. One fan called the 34-year-old an expletive and told him to get out of Chicago, while another shouted an expletive and a third held up their middle finger. Freedom, flanked by police outside the arena, posted video of the incident, writing: "We are getting attacked before the @WNBA game in Chicago." Other fans in the city greeted him with cheers and high-fives.
The confrontation was the latest in a string of protests and counter-protests at WNBA games in recent weeks, since Cunningham said she wants to "protect young girls" from "biological men." On Sunday, a "save women's sports party" was held in Chicago in support of Cunningham, and Freedom stopped by to greet fans before heading inside, where he watched Cunningham and Clark face DiJonai Carrington and the Sky.
Cunningham-Carrington Flagrant Foul Row
The Sky and Fever's rivalry has been simmering since earlier this month, when Cunningham accused Carrington of "playing" the race "card" after Carrington suggested Cunningham had benefited from "white privilege" during a separate on-court fracas.
Carrington was ejected from that game after a foul left Cunningham bloodied on the floor. Toward the end of the first quarter, Cunningham drove to the basket and was struck in the face by Carrington's arm. Carrington was assessed a flagrant 2 and sent to the locker room, with Cunningham and Clark seen waving as she left the court. Minutes later, Carrington posted on social media: "WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever."
Cloud's Earlier Comments on Fan Incidents
Cloud made headlines of her own recently over a separate issue, a spate of incidents in which fans have thrown sex toys onto WNBA courts. Speaking to reporters after Chicago's win over the Golden State Valkyries on Friday, she said: "It's lame as [expletive]; sorry, mama. 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 sexual shop, buy a [expletive], come to a women's game to throw the [expletive] on the court. That is the gayest [expletive] that I've ever heard," Cloud said.
"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."
Cloud branded the culprits "extremely weak," saying their actions failed to rattle players on the court and instead reflected poorly on the fans responsible. "Y'all lame as [expletive] to us. Y'all gay to us and we see it," she said. "So keep throwing them if you just want to keep telling us you're gay. You can come out. You'll be happier."
She closed by questioning how the culprits explain the purchases on their bank statements. "Like it says [expletive] on their credit card. Like they have to go through their financial advisor and be like, 'What's this green [expletive]? You good, Chad? You good, Richard? Are you good, Paul?'"
