On a night when Caitlin Clark made a career-high eight threes, the biggest talking point was former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom invading the Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky game at the Wintrust Arena.
Freedom was ejected after engaging in a heated argument with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. Per the Indy Star, Cloud began yelling at Freedom, who sat on the sideline with a shirt featuring the biological definition of a woman. Cloud was held back by teammate DiJonai Carrington and Fever security until Freedom was asked to leave the arena.
“Kanter Freedom was then escorted off the baseline to loud boos from the crowd, talked briefly with security behind the basket, then slowly walked off the court while puffing out the “Woman” T-shirt,” read the report.
Caitlin Clark Reacts to Enes Kanter Drama
After posting 37 points, 10 assists and three rebounds in Fever’s 113-90 win, Clark revealed she did not witness the shouting match between Freedom and Cloud.
“We were talking about the next play in our huddle,” Clark said, via The Athletic’s Brian Hamilton when asked what she was doing during the incident.
Fever head coach Stephanie White tried to downplay the incident.
“It’s a social media thing,” she said.
A fan who sat next to Kanter said that Cloud was the instigator of the tiff.
““Natasha Cloud scored. She came over and threw her hands up and was talking s— to his face,” said Tricia Smith, a Boise, Idaho, native.
“So he stood up and said, like, ‘What? What do you want?’ He didn’t do a thing. I’ve sat next to him the whole game. He’s a great guy. He’s taken probably 50 pictures tonight.”
Enes Kanter Rips WNBA After Incident
Furthermore, Sky head coach Tyler Marsh supported Cloud after the incident.
“Tash didn’t want to feel like she was a distraction; I told her she wasn’t,” Marsh said of her conversation with Cloud both during and after the game.
“I told her that we all embrace her as someone that protects our team and protects the people that need to be protected. And so Tash is always going to stand on that, and then we stand for Tash.”
However, Enes Kanter Freedom tried to play the victim after the incident.
“I’m supporting women, and that is the reason they’re kicking me out,” Freedom reportedly told a group of arena officials and in the arena lobby.
“It’s unacceptable.”
Let that sink in, AMERICA! 🇺🇸
Kanter gave Jackson Thompson of Fox News his detailed perspective of the incident.
“Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate,” Freedom said. “Literally a couple of possessions later, Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling and said, ‘She’s not gonna sleep with you.’ And I was like, ‘I am not trying to sleep with her. I’m just here to protect women and support her.
“After that, she started yapping and she started walk towards me. I got up and I was like, ‘I’m here to protect women, and that’s all.’ She started to use heavy language. She actually started to cuss. I was very shocked (because) there were a lot of kids and there were a lot of teenagers at that game. I just cannot believe that she was just cussing and using those f-bombs in front of these kids.”
Caitlin Clark Breaks Silence on Enes Kanter-Natasha Cloud Fight