{"id":934597,"date":"2026-09-17T01:17:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T06:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/17\/enes-kanter-freedoms-bigoted-stunts-have-nothing-to-do-with-protecting-women\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T01:17:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T06:17:26","slug":"enes-kanter-freedoms-bigoted-stunts-have-nothing-to-do-with-protecting-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/17\/enes-kanter-freedoms-bigoted-stunts-have-nothing-to-do-with-protecting-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Enes Kanter Freedom\u2019s Bigoted Stunts Have Nothing to Do With Protecting Women"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

August 24, 2026<\/span>\n <\/p>\n

\n

The trans women in sports panic is nothing but a stalking horse for permitting violence against trans people\u2014and we should celebrate players like Natasha Cloud who say so.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Former basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom and Natasha Cloud of the Chicago Sky confront each other during a Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever game on August 23, 2026, in Chicago.(Michael Reaves \/ Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enes Kanter was a mediocre NBA player who, in 2020, attracted more attention than he ever received on the court by decrying the Black Lives Matter movement and pushing to \u201cget politics out of sports.\u201d A year later, to celebrate becoming a US citizen, he legally changed his name to \u201cEnes Kanter Freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when it came to the performance art of being a right-wing talking head, Kanter had no game. Kanter\u2019s off-court microphone skills, it seemed, were about as good as his on-court defense, and he was quickly cycled off of the Fox News gravy train. In 2024, he tried on a new persona of \u201cformer NBA player who supports the Israeli genocide on Gaza.\u201d When the hype around that hot take waned, he became once again an ex-player without a team or any prospects of relevance.<\/p>\n

But Kanter finally found a way to satisfy both his personal pathologies and attention-dopamine addiction\u2014by claiming (with a smirk) that he is now a trans woman and demanding a roster spot in the WNBA.<\/p>\n

This past Sunday, Kanter pushed it even further, making a spectacle of himself at a WNBA game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever by wearing a shirt that read \u201cWOMAN: Noun, adult human female.\u201d The stunt prompted Sky vet Natasha Cloud to confront him from the court. When he rose from his seat and approached her with his arms outstretched, escalating the conflict, he was removed. As he was ushered out, he put his arms behind his back, as though he was being handcuffed. Later, he said, again with a proud smirk, he was removed from a WNBA game for \u201csupporting women.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the game, Natasha Cloud posted on Threads: \u201cTo every trans kid\/person, you are apart of MY community & tribe. You belong. You\u2019re loved. You\u2019re seen. You\u2019re perfect as you are. & you will always be protected by me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\n Current Issue
\n <\/h4>\n


\n \"Cover
\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Cloud has shown more courage and backbone than the WNBA executives that have let their league become an avatar for anti-trans bigots. Not coincidentally, Cloud has also been a consistent voice for the Palestinian people and for Black lives. She also can actually articulate why she holds those beliefs. In other words, she is the opposite of a talentless, attention-seeking hack.<\/p>\n

The less said about Kanter and the whole crowd that says they are \u201cprotecting women\u201d while deifying a sexual abuser and alleged pederast in the Oval Office the better. Their arguments are meant to sow division through distraction, all of it built on a foundation of deep-rooted misogyny.<\/p>\n

As ESPN\u2019s Mina Kimes posted: \u201cLoser behavior from a guy who\u2019s clinging like a shriveled old barnacle to a sport he doesn\u2019t actually care about in a desperate bid for relevance. Do not cede one inch to him or anyone who acts this way.\u201d But while these individuals deserve none of the attention they so desperately crave, Kimes is correct that we nevertheless cannot give them an inch. There is no \u201ctrans invasion\u201d of the WNBA\u2014that simply doesn\u2019t exist. What does exist, however, is the ongoing, relentless attack on trans kids and trans people in all parts of life, promulgated through a coordinated, well-funded, and highly organized campaign, of which Kanter is merely a grateful shill. The only danger in the WNBA right now is of picking the unlucky seat in the stands next to some YouTube influencer comfortable with fascist violence and desperate to create a viral moment.<\/p>\n

Fox News is now egging on every right-wing \u201cinfluencer\u201d like Kanter to turn their sights on a league in which they previously showed little notice. Murdoch\u2019s state media isn\u2019t interested in Iran, the economy, or Trump\u2019s deeply weird relationship with his aide Natalie Harp\u2014instead, according to Media Matters, since July 22, Fox has \u201cdedicated at least 130 segments to discussing the possibility of trans athletes in the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before all this became the outrage du jour, Fox was mostly attacking the WNBA on racist grounds, claiming white players\u2014really, the only two they ever heard of, Indiana Fever players Caitlin Clark and her anti-trans, relentlessly mediocre teammate Sophie Cunningham\u2014were getting fouled too hard by Black women. They egged on politicians and their fascist-minded followers, who\u2014it must be reemphasized\u2014have never before given a damn about women\u2019s sports other than a desire to overturn Title IX. Now they\u2019re suddenly on a mission to \u201cprotect\u201d white players. But none of this is new: The WNBA has long been a right-wing target. That\u2019s because it\u2019s queer-friendly, its stars are mostly Black women, and its players have historically been some of the most outspoken public figures against the racist, sexist, and homophobic aims of these fascists. It\u2019s important we don\u2019t neglect that part of the story.<\/p>\n

As hundreds of millions of dollars in broadcast revenue pours into the league\u2019s coffers, its executives are fecklessly going along with marching orders to \u201coffend\u201d as few people as possible. But now they need to stand with their fans, who long have seen WNBA games as a queer friendly space.<\/p>\n

In fact, last week in Brooklyn, hundreds of transgender activists and allies showed up at the Barclays Center during a New York Liberty game against the Indiana Fever to confront about 50 members of the late Charlie Kirk\u2019s Turning Point USA, who were there to protest the inclusion of trans women in women\u2019s sports. (Suffice it to say, TPUSA does not have a Brooklyn chapter.) The counter-rally was massive, inspiring, and a sign that popular opinion about this issue is not necessarily what the media would have you believe.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Popular<\/h2>\n

\u201cswipe left below to view more authors\u201d<\/span>Swipe \u2192<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n
  1. \n<\/li>\n
  2. \n<\/li>\n
  3. \n<\/li>\n
  4. \n<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n

    The right thinks they have their wedge issue. They think that by attacking the WNBA, and by attacking trans people, they get to pile onto two of their favorite targets to produce division and distraction in a country openly devolving into disastrous decay.<\/p>\n

    But given the masses of people at the Brooklyn counter-rally and the outpouring of support for Natasha Cloud, their bigotry is also provoking the opposite reaction. These figures on the right are being exposed as the losers, con artists, and social parasites that they are. It\u2019s clear that they care nothing about women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

    No, their goal goes way beyond sports. It\u2019s about eradicating trans people\u2014not just from public life, but life altogether. This is obvious. It\u2019s all out in the open. And until commentators are willing to admit that the WNBA panic is nothing but a stalking horse for the fascist elimination of trans lives, we\u2019re going to keep seeing more pathetic charlatans sprout up like an unwanted fungus.<\/p>\n

    \n
    \n

    Become a Sustaining Donor This September<\/em><\/a><\/h2>\n

    Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump\u2019s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum\u20137 to criminalize left political organizing, we\u2019re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes. <\/span>This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can\u2014and will\u2014overcome this darkness.<\/span>We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we\u2019re to win this fight.<\/span>That\u2019s why I\u2019m writing to you today.<\/span> This September, <\/b>The Nation <\/i><\/b>needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. <\/b>Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible.\u00a0<\/span>I hope you\u2019ll support our work with a recurring donation today. If you donate $10 or more a month, we\u2019ll send you a brand new \u201cHands Off the Free Press!\u201d sticker to recognise your commitment to our cause. Please, donate today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Onward,<\/span>Katrina vanden Heuvel
    <\/span>Editor and Publisher, <\/span>The Nation<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    \n
    \n Dave Zirin<\/a>
    \n <\/h5>\n


    \n \n\t\n<\/svg>
    \n <\/a><\/p>\n

    \n

    Dave Zirin is the sports editor at\u00a0The Nation<\/em>. He is the author of 11 books on the politics of sports. He is the author of a new book, The People’s Historian: The Outsized Life of Howard Zinn<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

    \t\t Dave Zirin
    Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    August 24, 2026 The trans women in sports panic is nothing but a stalking horse for permitting violence against trans people\u2014and we should celebrate players like Natasha Cloud who say so. Former basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom and Natasha Cloud of the Chicago Sky confront each other during a Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever game<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":934598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135061,40190],"tags":[135060,152481],"class_list":["post-934597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-freedoms","category-kanter","tag-freedoms","tag-kanter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}