Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Wintrust Arena on Sunday night after a furious courtside confrontation with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud, prompting a wave of criticism from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and Sky head coach Tyler Marsh.
Cloud had to be held back by security after going to confront the former NBA center during the Sky's game against the Indiana Fever. It remains unclear what the two were shouting at each other before security stepped in.
Kanter Freedom, 34, had controversially taken a seat courtside just days after claiming he has declared for the WNBA Draft. He was confronted by angry fans outside the arena earlier in the evening, while others gave him a hero's welcome.
Portnoy and Marsh hit out
Portnoy did not hold back on X after the incident. "I don't think boys should be allowed to play in girls sports. I also think Enes Kanter is an absolute clown for making this issue about him," he wrote. "We should be talking about how Caitlin had another double double 37 [points] and 10 [assists]," he added, referring to Fever star Caitlin Clark.
Marsh echoed the sentiment, saying the focus should stay on the players. "There are so many good things about this league and so many good things about the play of these players that if you come to a game, you should probably come to enjoy the basketball," the Sky coach said. "That seems pretty simple to me. I think these players deserve that and have earned that. Being a former basketball player, you should probably understand and feel that, too."
Marsh defends Cloud
Marsh later addressed the confrontation directly, saying he had spoken with his team and with Cloud after the game. "I talked to the team and Tash didn't want to feel like she was a distraction - and I told her she wasn't," he said. "I told her that we all embrace her as someone who 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."
"I just told the team that I'm proud of how we ride for each other and it's no different when it comes to this," Marsh continued. "We had to settle Tash down a little bit but she knew how important it was to lock back in for us... I thought she played a really good game tonight. That's the makeup of who we are. She's passionate and she's passionate about the things she believes in, about her teammates and we're passionate about her. That's what the messaging was."
Transgender athlete row
Kanter Freedom's appearance in Chicago came as the WNBA continues to be engulfed in controversy surrounding transgender athletes. He wore a provocative t-shirt bearing a definition of the word woman. "Woman. Noun," it read. "Adult human female," with the words "woman" and "female" highlighted in red.
Kanter Freedom spent parts of his NBA career with the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz before becoming known for his outspoken political activism. After he was escorted out of the arena by staff, he posted on social media: "I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!"
