Former Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday night's WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and Golden State Valkyries after getting into a verbal altercation with Valkyries guard Natasha Cloud.
It's a complex and layered scenario, so let's take a look at what's going on.
The current climate around the WNBAThe WNBA, often at the forefront of social and political activism, has been in the middle of the conversation about Transgender rights and whether or not biological men should be allowed to participate in women's sports.
Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has garnered backlash for her position that biological men should not be allowed to participate in women's sports.
How does Enes Kanter Freedom play into this?Well, Kanter Freedom and former NBA player Royce White have decided to test the commitment of some WNBA players (and the league as a whole) to the position that Transgender athletes do belong in women's sports.
The duo has said that they now identify as women and they are declaring themselves eligible for the WNBA Draft. Kanter Freedom, specifically, has been outspoken that he meets all the criteria to be eligible for the draft and he wants his rights supported.
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter (13) gestures as he reacts to an officials call against Toronto Raptors in the second half at Scotiabank Arena. Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY SportsWhat kind of reaction is Kanter Freedom getting?As you can imagine, the reaction is split. Some people are praising him as a champion who is making the league look hypocritical for not immediately embracing him.
Others are upset with him for taking a serious topic involving a marginalized group and turning it into political theatre.
What happened on SundayCloud began jawing at Kanter Freedom, who was in the stands and wearing a shirt that includes the definition of a woman. The NBA recently has been discussing what exactly makes someone a woman as part of meetings centering around Transgender eligibility.
It's unclear what specifically sparked this incident, though it may have just been Kanter Freedom's mere presence in the stands.
ENES KANTER AND NATASHA CLOUD GOING AT IT. 🤯👀 pic.twitter.com/Qov6x500re
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 24, 2026About Enes Kanter FreedomNow 34 years old, he spent 11 years in the NBA with the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers and Celtics. At 6-foot-10, he averaged 11.2 ppg and received votes for Six Man of the Year in four different seasons.
He was with the Celtics twice, in 2019-20 and in 2021-22. He was traded to the Houston Rockets in Feb. of 2022, so he did not participate in the team's run to the NBA Finals, where Boston lost to the Golden State Warriors.
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