Add The New York Post on Google Enes Kanter Freedom has stated his side of the story about what went down with Natasha Cloud inside Wintrust Arena on Sunday night.
The former NBA player was ejected from the Sky-Fever game after a heated interaction with the Sky guard, who Freedom claimed said he was trying to “sleep with” Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham.
“I’m a huge fan of basketball. I’m a huge fan of women’s basketball and I was there to watch the game and I was really excited because I’m a huge fan of the Fever. I was literally there to watch the game and then the first half went amazing,” Freedom told Fox News. “I was having so much fun with my friends and stuff. And then it was towards the end of the third quarter, Sophie Cunningham shot a three and I put my hands up to celebrate.
BREAKING: Enes Kanter Freedom just told me what happened with him and Natasha Cloud that led to his ejection."Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate… Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling and said, ‘She’s not gonna sleep with you."…
“Literally a couple of possessions later, Natasha [Cloud] came back and started screaming and yelling and said ‘She’s not going to sleep with you.’ And I was like ‘I’m not trying to sleep with her. I’m just here to protect women and support her.’ And then obviously after that she started yappin’ and she started to walk towards me and litertally I just got up and I was like ‘I’m just here to protect women and that’s all.'”
Freedom went on to say Cloud used “very heavy language” which he was “shocked” by considering the young fans in the crowd.
“I just cannot believe that she was just cussing and using those f-bombs in front of all these and that is not — I mean, I’m sure she is loved in Chicago and many kids are idiolizing her and stuff but that’s not [how] a WNBA athlete should react,” he said.
Following the altercation, security removed Freedom from the arena and the former Celtics player claimed they did not give him a reason for being kicked out.
“After that, the security guard came and was like ‘Listen, you need to leave.’ I was like ‘Can you please tell me why do I need to leave?’ They said ‘Look, you just need to leave.’ And then they literally — I don’t want to say they dragged me — but like they pretty much pushed me to leave the gym,” he said. “After that I had a conversation with the police officers, which I respect a lot, I was like ‘Listen, I was just there to protect women.'”
“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,” the former Liberty guard wrote Sunday night.
Sky coach Tyler Marsh also defended his player following the Fever’s 113-90 win.
“We all embrace her as someone that protects our team, and protects people that need to be protected,” he said. “Tash is always gonna stand on that, and we stand for Tash.”
Prior to the matchup, it was reported by TMZ that Freedom was going to be in attendence in Chicago.
Freedom has thurst himself into the ongiong trangender athlete discourse that has taken over the WNBA within the last month.
It was first sparked when Cunningham said she wants to “protect young girls” from “biological men” in sports in an ESPN feature.
Following that, Freedom declared himself for 2027 WNBA Draft by posting a video of him signing his name to a document that asks the WNBA to accept his “decision to enter the player pool for the 2027 WNBA Draft.”
Last week, he tested the league’s policies further by claiming he had spoken to eight players about entering the 2027 draft if the WNBA does not change or further clarify its eligibility standards.
“The NBA G League pays players $45,000 a year, while the WNBA top players earn $1.4 million,” he said in a video. “Those men could earn an extra $1,355,000 a year by just identifying as women. Rules are rules.”
Throughout the ongoing discourse, the league had an anti-hate task force meeting this month and found “no immediate eligibility matters affecting” the league.
“We strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others,” a spokesperson for the league said.
