Enes Freedom Banned From Chicago Sky Home Games And Declared Ineligible For The WNBA Draft

The Enes Kanter Freedom saga reached two new milestones this week. The Chicago Sky announced they have banned Freedom from all home games at Wintrust Arena following the August 23 confrontation with guard Natasha Cloud, with co-owner Nadia Rawlinson calling him a "potential threat."

Separately, a person familiar with the WNBA's decision told the Associated Press that Freedom and former NBA player Royce White, both of whom declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft saying they identify as women, are not eligible.

The eligibility decision was made quietly without public explanation beyond confirming it. The WNBA's collective bargaining agreement restricts the league to women but contains no specific language about gender identity or sex assigned at birth. The league did not elaborate on what standard it applied. Freedom and White have not responded to the eligibility ruling directly.

Freedom sent a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after the ejection, disputing the Sky's account of the August 23 incident in which Cloud walked toward his courtside seat during a timeout and began yelling.

He argued he remained in his seat, received no warning before being ejected, and accused the league of viewpoint discrimination for responding to his shirt, which read "WOMAN noun. adult human female," while not addressing Cloud's behavior. He requested a full ticket refund and a review of the ejection.

The Indiana Fever won the game 113-90.