Old social media posts from Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud about the assassination of Charlie Kirk have resurfaced after she clashed with Enes Kanter Freedom during a WNBA game on Sunday.
During the second half of the Sky's game against the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena, Cloud stormed over to Freedom as he sat courtside and the two got into an argument. They were seen shouting at each other before Cloud's teammates pulled her back to avoid an ejection. Freedom was later kicked out of the arena after he walked onto the court.
Freedom, who played in the NBA for years, has sparked controversy after claiming he is "transitioning" to become a WNBA player. Cloud has built a reputation as a fierce social justice advocate and one of the more vocally progressive players in the league.
Cloud's post on trans support
Cloud had posted to Threads: "To every trans kid/person, you are apart of MY community & tribe. You belong. You're loved. You're seen. You're perfect as you are. & you will always be protected by me."
That prompted right-wing social media accounts to dig up posts Cloud made in the days after Kirk was assassinated on the campus of Utah Valley University last September. Replying to a comment left by a user on September 12, 2025, two days after the activist's assassination, Cloud wrote that Kirk "lobbied to be shot in public. He literally called for public executions."
Old posts draw fresh backlash
After the incident with Freedom on Sunday, right-wing accounts began amplifying the old post. "Natasha Cloud the player that went at Enes Kanter said Charlie Kirk lobbied to be shot in public. The WNBA tolerates the most vile behavior as long as it is from the radical Left. They discriminate against fans who oppose men in women's sports with today being another example," one user wrote on X. Another posted: "Man she is asking for it!"
A comment on a video of the incident read: "[expletive] Natasha Cloud. She was happy when Charlie Kirk died. She isn't even human."
Around the same time as her original posts, Cloud had also tweeted about the political background of the family of Kirk's alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson. In a since-deleted tweet, she wrote: "So how y'all gone twist this? Raised in a good middle class family, dad was an officer/church leader, whole family of Republicans and gun owners [and] Trump supporters." She also claimed Robinson and his family were "far-right Republicans."
Freedom gives his account
Following the courtside spat, Freedom gave his version of events to OutKick. "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,'" Freedom said.
He added: "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. 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 being 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 another video, he was seen arguing with security as he was escorted away, telling them, "This is unacceptable."
Freedom, who spent more than a decade in the NBA, recently said he wants to play alongside players including Caitlin Clark.
Confronted by fans before tipoff
Earlier in the night, Freedom was confronted by furious fans as he arrived at Wintrust Arena for the Fever-Sky game.
He wore a T-shirt reading "Woman. Noun. Adult human female," with the words "woman" and "female" highlighted in red. Not every fan gave him a warm welcome: one called the 34-year-old a "[expletive]" and told him to "get [his] [expletive] out of Chicago," while another shouted "[expletive] you [expletive]" and a third held up a middle finger in his face. Freedom, flanked by police, posted a video of the incident with the caption: "We are getting attacked before the @WNBA game in Chicago." Other fans in Chicago greeted the former Utah Jazz and New York Knicks player with cheers and high-fives.
There have been regular protests and counter-protests at WNBA games in recent weeks after Cunningham said she wants to "protect young girls" from "biological men." On Sunday, a "save women's sports party" in support of Cunningham was held in Chicago, and Freedom stopped by to greet fans.
Background to the Cunningham-Carrington feud
Once inside the arena, Freedom was pictured courtside as Cunningham and Clark faced a rematch with the Sky and DiJonai Carrington. Earlier this month, Cunningham accused Carrington of playing the race "card" after the Sky star appeared to suggest her rival benefited from "white privilege" during a fracas between the two teams.
Carrington was ejected from that game and assessed a flagrant 2 after a hard foul left Cunningham bloodied on the floor during the first quarter, with Cunningham and Clark seen waving as Carrington headed to the locker room. Carrington later posted, "WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever," sparking further controversy.
Cloud's earlier remarks on fan behavior
Cloud made headlines of her own last week after a tirade about a spate of incidents in which fans threw sex toys onto WNBA courts. Speaking to reporters after Chicago's win over the Golden State Valkyries on Friday, Cloud did not hold back. "It's lame as [expletive]. Sorry, mama," the 34-year-old veteran said.
Cloud, who is a lesbian, continued: "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 sex 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. 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."
She called the perpetrators "extremely weak," saying their actions fail to rattle players on the court and instead reflect 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. You'll be nicer to people. You'll be happier in your everyday life. You don't need to go to therapy or none of that [expletive]. Just be yourself."
Cloud closed by questioning how the culprits explain the purchases on their financial records. "Y'all weird," she added. "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?' Because it also is a certain demographic. Y'all cool? Are y'all cool? And don't be running."
