Enes Kanter Freedom Reveals Sophie Cunningham Text Exchange After WNBA Ejection, Praises Star as ‘American Hero’

Enes Kanter Freedom revealed that he exchanged messages with WNBA star Sophie Cunningham shortly after being ejected from the Chicago Sky vs Indiana Fever game on August 23. Speaking to Fox News, the former NBA player said Cunningham reached out with a straightforward question: “What happened?” Her reaction came after the bizarre incident at the game, where Kanter was removed from the arena following a heated exchange with Chicago Sky player Natasha Cloud.

Kanter had been sitting courtside wearing a shirt that read, “WOMAN, noun. Adult human female.” After Cloud scored and appeared to direct her comments toward him, Kanter stood up and responded, leading to a confrontation before security and players intervened. The incident quickly spread online, and Kanter has now shared details of his conversation with Cunningham following the unexpected ejection.

During an appearance on The Big Weekend Show, fill-in host Riley Gaines asked Enes Kanter Freedom whether he had spoken with Sophie Cunningham and what she thought about his campaign to enter the WNBA. Kanter confirmed that the two had exchanged messages following his ejection from the Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever game, revealing that Cunningham had asked him what had happened.

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“I did text her after the game, and she even asked me like, ‘What happened?’ I simply said I got up and open my arms in the air and said, ‘I’m here to protect my friends,'” he said. Kanter did not clarify who initiated the conversation and offered no further details about their exchange.

Kanter then spoke highly of Cunningham, describing her as an influential figure for young women. He praised her willingness to speak publicly about her views and said he believed she had become a prominent voice in the ongoing debate. “She’s standing for the truth… I think she’s an idol now and an American hero,” Kanter said. “I’m just really happy that finally someone from the WNBA got up and said, ‘Enough is enough. We have to stand for American values.'”

Kanter’s ejection came shortly after he announced his decision to enter the WNBA draft as a protest against the league’s policies concerning transgender athletes. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement states that only women are eligible to be drafted, while Kanter and former NBA player Royce White have questioned why the league does not explicitly define the term “woman.” Their declarations prompted the WNBA to respond that it would not allow itself to be “used as political pawns.”

Cunningham has also become a prominent figure in the debate after comments she made to ESPN about transgender participation in women’s sports. Addressing the criticism she received, Cunningham said: “I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,'” [Cunningham] says. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

Her comments have drawn both support and criticism, making her a major talking point around the WNBA. While supporters rallied behind her, others pushed back, including an opposing coach who appeared to respond by wearing a shirt that read “Trans Kids Belong.” Cunningham also endured a heavy hit to the head during a nationally televised game before later appearing in a more lighthearted moment, singing a Toby Keith song from atop a bar.

Kanter said his objective is not to undermine women’s basketball but to push the WNBA to change the wording of its eligibility rules. He argued that adding the word “biological” before “women” would address his concerns. “I’m not here to hurt women basketball, I’m literally here to just, you know, protect it, in a way,” he said.