The former NBA star who is pursuing a spot in the WNBA has broken his silence on his furious courtside confrontation with Natasha Cloud during her team’s game against Sophie Cunningham and the Indiana Fever.
On Sunday night, Cloud had to be held back by security after confronting Enes Kanter Freedom – who claims he has declared for the WNBA Draft – during the Fever’s game against the Chicago Sky.
In shocking scenes that occurred during the second half at the Wintrust Arena, Sky star Cloud stormed over to Freedom, who was controversially sat courtside on the night, and sparked a furious argument.
In a viral clip of the incident, the pair could be seen shouting at each other before Freedom stood up and held his arms out, as if he was welcoming the mid-game confrontation from Cloud, who was quickly stopped in her tracks by security.
The Sky star was dragged away from the situation by security and teammates before returning to the game, while Freedom was seen being escorted out the arena by staff.
Now Kanter has alleged that it was Cloud who initiated the confrontation and told him that Cunningham ‘won’t sleep with you’.
WNBA star Natasha Cloud had to be held back by security after going to confront Enes Kanter Freedom – who said he has declared for the WNBA Draft – during her game on Sunday night
Kanter Freedom alleged Cloud told him Sophie Cunningham ‘won’t sleep with you’
Cloud stormed over to Freedom, who was sat courtside, and sparked a furious argument
He told OutKick: ‘Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate. Literally, a couple 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.” And then, obviously, after that she started yapping, and she started to walk towards me, and literally I just got up, and then I was like, “I’m just here to protect women, and that’s all.”
‘She started to yell. She started to use some very heavy language. She started to actually cuss, and I was very shocked that there were a lot of kids and that 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 all these kids. I’m sure she’s loved in Chicago and many kids are idolizing her and stuff, but that’s not how a WNBA athlete should react.’
Taking to X after he was removed by security, Kanter wrote: ‘I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!’
He also wrote: ‘It’s always women hating on other women’.
Meanwhile, in another video, Freedom was seen arguing with security after being escorted away from his courtside seat, telling them: ‘This is unacceptable’.
Kanter Freedom, who is 6-foot-10 and spent more than a decade in the NBA, recently sent shockwaves through women’s basketball after revealing he wants to play alongside Caitlin Clark and Co.
Freedom appeared to welcome the confrontation from Sky star Cloud during the game
The pair could be seen yelling at each other mid-game at the Wintrust Arena on Sunday night
Earlier in the night, Freedom was confronted by furious fans as he arrived at the Wintrust Arena for the Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky clash.
He wore a provocative t-shirt that included a definition of the word woman. ‘Woman. Noun,’ it read. ‘Adult human female.’ The words woman and female were highlighted in red. And he was not given a warm welcome by everyone, with one fan calling the 34-year-old a ‘b**** a** n****’ and telling him to ‘get [his] b**** a** out of Chicago.’
Another said ‘f*** you b****,’ while a third held up their middle finger in the face of Kanter Freedom, who was flanked by police outside the arena. ‘We are getting attacked before the @WNBA game in Chicago,’ he posted alongside a video of the incident.
But the former Utah Jazz and New York Knicks star was greeted by cheers and high-fives by other fans in Chicago.
There have been regular protests and counter protests at WNBA games in recent weeks, after Cunningham sparked controversy by claiming she wants to ‘protect young girls’ from ‘biological men.’
On Sunday in Chicago, there was a ‘save women’s sports party’ in support of Cunningham and Kanter Freedom stopped by to greet fans.
After making it inside Wintrust Arena, Kanter Freedom was pictured courtside as Cunningham and Clark faced a rematch with the Sky and DiJonai Carrington.
Earlier this month, Cunningham slammed Carrington for ‘playing’ the race ‘card’ after the Chicago Sky star appeared to suggest her rival benefited from ‘white privilege’ during a shocking fracas.
Earlier in the night, Freedom was confronted by fans as he arrived at the Fever-Sky clash
Carrington was ejected from the clash between the Sky and the Indiana Fever after her nasty foul left Cunningham bloodied and on the floor. Toward the end of the first quarter, Cunningham drove towards the basket, only to be struck in the face by Carrington’s arm.
The Sky star was assessed a flagrant 2 and sent to the locker room, with both Cunningham and her teammate Caitlin Clark seen waving as Carrington headed off the court.
Minutes later, Carrington posted on social media ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever,’ sparking yet another WNBA scandal.
Meanwhile, Sky star Cloud made headlines of her own recently after launching a furious verbal tirade regarding the sex-toy-throwing incidents of late.
Speaking to reporters after Chicago’s victory over the Golden State Valkyries on Friday, Cloud did not hold back when asked about the recurring fan behavior.
‘It’s lame as f***; Sorry, mama,’ the 34-year-old veteran said.
‘And I just, man, and like, in most of these occasions, it’s men. And I want you to know that is the gayest thing that you can do is to go to a store, a sex shop, buy a d****, come to a women’s game to throw the d**** on the court.
‘That is the gayest s*** that I’ve ever heard. So I’m a firm believer in anyone that has so much problem with a certain marginalized group, just come out and say that you’re a part of our marginalized group because that hate is unwarranted. It’s not factual.
‘And it says more about the internal struggles of that individual than it ever will say about the collective group.’
This incident comes days after DiJonai Carrington’s hard foul on Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham
Cloud went on to call the perpetrators ‘extremely weak,’ stating that their actions fail to rattle the players on the court and instead reflect poorly on the fans responsible.
‘Y’all lame as s*** to us. Y’all gay to us and we see it,’ Cloud continued. ‘So keep throwing them if you just want to keep telling us you’re gay. You can come out. You’ll be happier. You’ll be nicer to people. You’ll be happier in your everyday life. You don’t need to go to therapy or none of that s***. Just be yourself.’
She concluded her postgame comments by questioning how the culprits explain the purchases on their financial records.
‘Y’all weird,’ she added. ‘Like it says d**** on their credit card. Like they have to go through their financial advisor and be like, ‘What’s this green d****? You good, Chad? You good, Richard? Are you good, Paul?’ Because it also is a certain demographic. Y’all cool? Are y’all cool? And don’t be running.’
