Enes Kanter Freedom gets tossed from arena after courtside clash with WNBA star

Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday night's WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky after a confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter.

Freedom was seated along the baseline wearing a black shirt that read "WOMAN noun. adult human female."

With 1:22 remaining in the third period, the Fever called a timeout after Cloud scored inside. Cloud shared a chest bump with teammate Aicha Coulibaly before turning around and walking toward Freedom.

Cloud, 34, began yelling and pointing at Freedom, 34, as she approached him. Freedom stood up, extended his arms, and took a step onto the court before security personnel and several Sky players stepped between them.

"There was just a fan incident and the security handled it, and we're just going to focus on the game," Chicago forward Azura Stevens said after the Sky's 113-90 loss.

Chicago coach Tyler Marsh said Cloud was concerned about being a distraction for the team.

"I told her she wasn’t," Marsh said. "I told her that we all embrace her as someone that protects our team and protects people that need to be protected and so Tash is always going to stand on that, and we stand for Tash."

Freedom stopped near the basket to argue his case to security as he was escorted from the court area. He spun around while holding his shirt out to encourage a response from the crowd as he walked toward the front lobby.

He spoke with a group of police officers before departing Wintrust Arena.

"I didn’t see it, we were talking about the next play in our huddle," Indiana star Caitlin Clark said, "so I think that’s probably a question for Chicago."

Cloud met with team and league security after the game but did not speak with the media.

The WNBA has recently been the focus of debate over whether transgender women — individuals assigned male at birth who transition to align with their gender identity — should be allowed to compete in the league. No transgender athlete has ever played in the WNBA.

Although the league's collective bargaining agreement states it is restricted to women, it contains no specific language regarding gender identity or sex assigned at birth.

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham stated in an ESPN profile published last month that she was opposed to transgender girls and women competing in girls' and women's sports. Freedom and another former NBA player, Royce White, have declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, saying they identify as women.