Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom is making headlines once again after targeting WNBA\u2019s player eligibility policies. A recent incident\u2014which included him declaring eligibility for the WNBA draft, experiencing a courtside ejection, and becoming involved in a federal lawsuit\u2014has sparked major debate across the sports world and drawn a sharp response from NBA star Kevin Durant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freedom announced his intent to enter the 2027 WNBA draft, referencing the vague language regarding gender identity within the league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement. Framing his declaration as a protest against current standards in women\u2019s professional sports, Freedom stated that the wording of the existing policy technically permitted his entry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The protest escalated into a physical dispute during an August matchup between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever. Freedom, whilst wearing a shirt with the dictionary definition of a woman, engaged in a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. Arena security escorted Freedom from the Wintrust Arena for stepping toward the court and violating spectator conduct policies. In response, Freedom filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Sky franchise and city authorities, alleging his removal was motivated by his speech. He faced backlash from fans and players, leading to an arena ban from the Sky franchise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The public attention surged on NBA Media Day, where Kevin Durant was asked to comment on the political discourse impacting the women\u2019s league. Speaking to reporters ahead of his season with the Houston Rockets, Durant dismissed the political debate as irrelevant to the sport itself, stating that \u201cAll that stuff is just noise, man. The WNBA is flourishing. Look what these women are doing. You know, look at the money they\u2019ve made over the last few years. Look at the visibility of their league. They got four or five signature athletes that are representing major brands. These women have brands for themselves. They\u2019re businesswomen for themselves outside of the game.\u201d In all, Durant emphasized the WNBA\u2019s commercial growth, pointing to expanding viewership, rising player compensation, and major corporate endorsement deals as the central story of the league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freedom quickly fired back at Durant on social media, writing: \u201cKevin Durant, since when did protecting woman become so political?\u201d Freedom accused Durant of ignoring concerns over biological males sharing locker rooms and private spaces with female athletes. Adding a personal jab, Freedom concluded: \u201cShame on you! This isn\u2019t about politics. It\u2019s about common sense, morality, and standing up for what\u2019s right. But what would you expect from someone who turned his back on Oklahoma to chase a ring?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Aggarwal, Eva. \u201cKevin Durant Defends WNBA: Rockets Star Calls Political Drama ‘Noise’ Amid Enes Kanter Freedom Controversy.\u201d The Sunday Guardian<\/em>, 23 September 2026, https:\/\/sundayguardianlive.com\/sports\/kevin-durant-defends-wnba-rockets-star-calls-political-drama-noise-amid-enes-kanter-freedom-controversy-290693\/. Accessed 14 October 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Falkingham, Katie. \u201cEnes Kanter Freedom ejected from WNBA game after verbal altercation with Natasha Cloud.\u201d BBC<\/em>, 24 8 2026, https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport\/basketball\/articles\/c87vg1j93pqo. Accessed 21 September 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HoopsHype. \u201cFormer NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, who contends he \u2026.\u201d HoopsHype<\/em>, 2026, https:\/\/eu.hoopshype.com\/story\/sports\/nba\/rumors\/2026\/09\/14\/former-nba-player-enes-kanter-freedom-who-contends-he\/91757879007\/. Accessed 19 9 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom is making headlines once again after targeting WNBA\u2019s player eligibility policies. A recent incident\u2014which included him declaring…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":2277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2269"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2274,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2269\/revisions\/2274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}