Chicago Sky Bans Enes Kanter Freedom After Altercation With Player The Chicago Sky banned former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom from Wintrust Arena after he was escorted out of the building by security following a verbal confrontation with point guard Natasha Cloud during a game against the Indiana Fever. The incident occurred late in the third quarter, with Kanter Freedom seated courtside in a black T-shirt featuring the text “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” When a timeout was called, Cloud approached Kanter Freedom, shouting at him. He stood with his arms outstretched and took steps toward the court before security intervened and directed him to leave. Sky owner Michael Alter told Chicago reporters that Kanter Freedom had been “chirping” and attempting to provoke Cloud, a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Alter stated that the player’s actions posed a potential threat to the team and players, leading to his ban. “He has demonstrated to us unequivocally that he has the potential to be a threat,” Alter said. “That he is not able to control himself to the extent where we can be comfortable that he may not step toward the court again and toward the players.” The team will not allow Kanter Freedom back into the building until he can prove otherwise. Sources confirmed that both Kanter Freedom and Cloud are not eligible to play in the WNBA, though the league has no publicly defined policy on transgender or intersex athletes. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement, signed in March, specifies that only players who are women are eligible to compete, with no further clarification on the definition of a woman. No transgender woman has played in the league, and there are currently no known cases requiring the league to review eligibility distinctions.#chicago_sky #wnba #natasha_cloud #enes_kanter_freedom #michael_alter
