Scuffle at WNBA game: Enes Kanter ejected after clash with Natasha Cloud
Enes Kanter was escorted out late in the third quarter after a heated exchange with Natasha Cloud; Kanter says the confrontation began when he celebrated a three-pointer.
Former NBA player Enes Kanter was ejected from a WNBA game on August 24, 2026 after a verbal confrontation with Chicago guard Natasha Cloud, team and game reports show. The incident unfolded late in the third quarter and ended with arena security escorting Kanter off the floor.
Kanter said the dispute began when he celebrated a three-pointer by Indiana's Sophie Cunningham. He described the exchange afterward, saying: "Cunningham hit a three, and I raised my hands to celebrate. A few possessions later, Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling, and then she told me: 'I won't sleep with you'."
According to Kanter, he responded immediately to Cloud. "I told her: 'I'm not trying to sleep with her. I'm here to protect women and to support her'. Then, obviously, she started to move toward me, so I stood up and told her: 'I'm only here to protect women, that's it'."
Security response and visible message
Officials removed Kanter from the arena near the end of the third quarter after Cloud approached him on the sideline. Photographs from the scene show Kanter wearing a T-shirt bearing a short definition of the word "woman"; Kanter said the shirt read: "Woman, noun, adult human female."
The episode occurred amid an ongoing, often heated debate over the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports. Organizers and teams have faced growing scrutiny and public discussion about policies and locker-room dynamics.
Kanter insisted the words exchanged with Cloud were unrelated to transgender issues and that they did not reflect any plan on his part to participate as a player in the WNBA. Game officials declined to comment on the record about any disciplinary steps beyond the in-game ejection.
Photo: press material from the event
