WNBA antagonist was denied entry to Finals game after refusing to sit in private suite
Showing that his trolling game is in postseason form, former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom attempted to play in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night.
He never got to his place.
Freedom, an outspoken opponent of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, was denied entry to State Farm Arena in Atlanta after refusing to watch the game from a private suite the team had set up in response to concerns about his safety.
Freedom had purchased seats for the game and insisted on sitting in them. The video he posted to social media showed an arena official telling him he could only enter State Farm Arena if he agreed to watch from the suite, where extra security had been put in place.
“I bought tickets, didn’t I?” said Liberty. “I would like to sit in my place. That’s all I want.”
Freedom eventually left the arena and described the episode as an attempt to silence his views. “I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for the second time in a row for supporting WOMEN!” he wrote about X. “Let that sink in, AMERICA!”
Before the game, State Farm Arena said Freedom contacted federal, state and local authorities, as well as the WNBA, Atlanta Dream and arena officials, to express concerns about her safety. Officials said the sequel was intended to address those concerns and provide “a safe and positive experience” for Freedom and other fans.
The former NBA center has made transgender participation in women’s sports a public cause. Freedom and former NBA player Royce White sought to provoke the league by declaring themselves women and candidates for the WNBA draft, as part of a campaign challenging the league’s policies toward transgender athletes.
Wednesday marked Freedom’s second appearance in a WNBA game in recent months. He was ejected from a Chicago Sky game in August following a verbal exchange with guard Natasha Cloud and was subsequently banned from the team’s arena.
He has not been shy about drawing attention to his campaign. Freedom appeared with Dennis Rodman at a Trump rally in Oklahoma earlier this month, where the president called him from the stage and joked about Freedom’s supposed plans to play in the WNBA.
With Freedom left outside the arena — and away from the cameras — the Dream beat the Valkyries, 97-71, to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven WNBA Finals.
Gn bussni
