Enes Kanter Freedom is BANNED from WNBA arena by furious owner after ugly altercation with Natasha Cloud: ‘He has the potential to be a threat’
Enes Kanter Freedom has been banned from the Chicago Sky arena, team owner Michael Alter said.
The former NBA player, who is trying to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, had an altercation with Natasha Cloud while sat courtside at the Wintrust Arena at the weekend.
Kanter has thrown himself into the heart of the trans athletes debate by trying to take advantage of WNBA eligibility rules by entering the Draft. A league source recently said it is ‘not going to give oxygen to efforts designed to mock the league or use this topic to demean and marginalize others’, calling it a ‘publicity stunt’, per Front Office Sports.
He attended the Sky game against the Indiana Fever wearing a provocative t-shirt that included a definition of the word woman. ‘Woman. Noun,’ it read. ‘Adult human female.’ The words woman and female were highlighted in red.’
Cloud stormed over to Kanter and a furious argument broke out between the two, with a viral clip of the incident showing the pair shouting at each other. Cloud was held back by security as he stood up and spread his arms.
He was ejected from the arena and will now no longer be permitted to return, with the Sky owner stating he showed the ‘potential to be a threat’ during the incident.
Enes Kanter Freedom clashed with Natasha Cloud at the Chicago Sky game at the weekend
Kanter Freedom was sat courtside after his recent attempts to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft
‘He has demonstrated to us, unequivocally, that he has the potential to be a threat,’ Alter said, via ESPN.
He added that the only way he will ever be permitted to return is if ‘sometime in the future, he’s able to prove to us that he’s able to abide by our rules without being a potential threat.’
Alter met with the media to address the situation that occurred, revealing he learned on the day of the game that Kanter would controversially be attending via a text from his agent to GM Jeff Pagliocca.
He was unaware of where he would be seated, and admitted his ‘one regret’ is deciding not to inform his team’s players before the game.
‘It was pretty clear to us that his purpose of coming here was trying to be provocative and just see how much attention he could get,’ Alter added.
He went on to allege that Kanter started the dialogue with Cloud, having spoken to multiple eyewitnesses.
‘They each confirmed that the dialogue between Cloud and Kanter started with Kanter,’ he said.
‘He began to chirp with her sometime in the third quarter. I would characterize it as trash talking, nothing personal. Basketball-related, but enough to get her attention and to engage her, and in my opinion, to try to provoke her.
‘He portrays as this victimless person who did nothing, said nothing. Just wearing a t-shirt … We have five different security authorities that all agreed very quickly to throw him out because he made himself into a threat.’
Kanter sat down with Fox News on Monday afternoon and responded to reports the WNBA had ruled him ineligible.
He said: ‘Listen, Article 13 Section 1 says if you identify as a woman, then you are allowed to play! I identify as a woman, so yes, I can play.
‘They’re terrified because I might actually get drafted and play against their big men. I’m probably going to drop 60 points… I’m going to try to beat Wilt Chamberlain’s record [of 100 points in a single game]. I might go over 100 points for sure.’
