Enes Kanter Freedom is no stranger to controversy. But the former NBA center is facing backlash from the WNBA after transforming Sunday’s Indiana Fever–Chicago Sky game at Wintrust Arena into a protest. He appeared courtside in a black T-shirt, defining a woman, challenging the league’s self-identification and inclusion policies.
After a heated late third-quarter exchange with Sky guard Natasha Cloud, Kanter was escorted out of the arena. While the incident continues to gain traction, the basketball community remains divided over transgender participation in women’s sports.
Sydney Colson Fires Back at Enes Kanter Freedom’s Transgender Narrative
Recently, former NBA veteran Kenyon Martin posted a video on Instagram arguing that Enes Kanter had “made his point” and urging him not to turn the league or trans community into a spectacle.
He called out Kanter to stop “harassing them at games” and labeled his actions as “too much” and “uncalled for.”
“You are a voice now of certain things, and people tend to pay attention…but let’s not make a mockery of the WNBA. Let’s not make a mockery of the trans community. Those are people. They have family, lives, and loved ones. They deserve your utmost respect…let them be. They are doing their job,” said Kenyon Martin.
Veteran WNBA guard Sydney Colson, however, rejected Martin’s framing. On Threads, she dismissed the idea that Freedom was highlighting a legitimate competition issue, instead calling out critics for fueling the culture war.
She described the narrative of trans athletes taking over the WNBA as “fearmongering.”
“Let me help you out: 1. He never made a point bc trans women trying to play in or take over the WNBA…isn’t a thing it’s fearmongering & I suggest u look up how it’s used in & alongside propaganda. 2. The W’s prob right now is just cis men, unsurprisingly. A cis man, btw, is someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. I’m guessing u were assigned male at birth, and that’s something you’ve agreed with all your life. 3. Why bother callin a weird mf like that ur brother?” posted Colson.
Colson is known for her sharp wit, and in another post on Threads, the two-time WNBA champion addressed NBA players attempting to lecture female athletes about their own league.
“NBA players of all ages: don’t think because you have more money, visibility, +++ more that you are smarter than W players on any front lmao y’all are killing meee! Lend positivity to our league, uplift it so that your daughters might want to play in it and be outspoken and courageous, but stop acting like your bigger platforms and male groupies = you knowing best. With soooo much love, Syd, “ wrote Colson.
As the transgender debate divides the basketball world, this exchange highlights a loophole in the WNBA’s policy, which remains unclear on the issue.
Even though no transgender athletes currently play in the league’s 15 franchises, outside commentary continues to dominate headlines. The WNBA needs to refocus attention on its athletes’ achievements and let the game take center stage.
