Ex-NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom was met by a hostile crowd outside Chicago's Wintrust Arena on Sunday, proving once again that standing up for basic common sense comes with a cost.
Freedom arrived at the sold-out Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky matchup and was quickly surrounded by a mob of progressive fans. Security tried to shield the 6-foot-10 veteran as spectators swarmed.
He also arrived wearing a shirt with the definition of "woman" printed across it, a pretty direct reminder of the question the WNBA still cannot seem to answer.
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Freedom posted video footage of the chaotic scene to social media, captioning the clip: "We are getting attacked before the @WNBA game in Chicago."
One fan walked directly up to Freedom and flipped him the bird, while another tried to mock his 11-year professional career by shouting, "You were sorry in the league!"
For a player with more than 700 games under his belt, Freedom has heard worse than a fan's lazy cheap shot. The irony, of course, is that it could get awfully awkward for those same fans if the Sky eventually draft Enes.
Taking heat for speaking the truth is nothing new for Freedom. He effectively lost his NBA career after daring to call out human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party and expose corporate hypocrisy in professional basketball.
Now, he is using his platform to defend female athletes, taking continuous fire for pointing out a simple reality: biological men do not belong in women's sports.
Freedom recently declared himself eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft to expose how the league's muddled gender-eligibility rules could leave female roster spots open to any man willing to play along.
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Freedom formally entered the draft earlier this month, daring the WNBA to clarify who qualifies for its own women’s league. Article XIII of the CBA says only women are eligible to play, yet the league still cannot explain how it plans to enforce that rule.
Former NBA player Royce White has since declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft, while Freedom said he has spoken with other male basketball players about following suit.
Freedom explained the move to former Auburn coach Bruce Pearl in his first interview after declaring for the draft.
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"By their rules," he said, if he steps on the court and identifies as a woman, he is allowed to play. "I'm not breaking any rules here. I know the rules really well."
He then painted the WNBA nightmare scenario: Caitlin Clark tossing lobs to the hulking ex-NBA center as the pair become "modern Kobe and Shaq." Freedom noted they could chest-bump afterward because "I am now a woman."
The WNBA has since held meetings to figure out who qualifies as a woman in a women's basketball league, yet it still has not provided a clear public answer.
Freedom will take the heat for confronting the CCP abroad and standing up for female athletes at home, while much of the sports world stays safely silent.
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