The WNBA is in an uproar: Enes Kanter's plans with the Indiana Fever could send everything into a tailspin

E nes Kanter Freedom has no intention of disappearing from the WNBA spotlight after being ejected from Sunday's Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game.

The former NBA center was removed from Wintrust Arena following a heated confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud during the third quarter.

Now, rather than stepping away from the league, Kanter says he plans to attend every playoff game played by the Fever , potentially ensuring that the controversy surrounding him follows Indiana into the postseason.

Speaking with Fox News host Laura Ingraham after the incident, Kanter made his intentions clear.

"I am so excited for the playoffs," Kanter said. "I cannot wait to go to every playoff game that the Indiana Fever plays. It's going to be fun."

Kanter's comments come as the Fever enter the final stretch of the regular season in a strong position. Indiana is 25-14 with five regular-season games remaining and has already secured a playoff berth.

The team has also been one of the WNBA's biggest stories throughout the season, with Caitlin Clark 's return to action and the ongoing attention surrounding the franchise helping make its games among the league's most watched.

That means Kanter's planned presence could attract considerable attention.

When asked whether he expected to have difficulty obtaining tickets after his removal from the Chicago game, Kanter explained that he was taking precautions.

"I don't get those tickets under my name, because I don't know if they are going to cancel at the last minute or not. So, I'm getting those tickets under my manager's name,” he said.

The controversy goes beyond one courtside confrontation

Kanter's relationship with the WNBA has become increasingly controversial since he announced his intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft.

The former NBA player has argued that the league's rules leave room for his declaration, while the WNBA has not publicly provided a detailed policy addressing transgender eligibility.

However, that situation changed somewhat this week after multiple reports indicated that Kanter and former NBA player Royce White would not be eligible for the draft.

Reuters reported that sources around the league had confirmed their ineligibility, although the WNBA itself had not publicly announced the decision.

The league's collective bargaining agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but it does not publicly spell out more detailed criteria regarding gender identity or sex assigned at birth.

That unresolved debate has placed Kanter at the center of a much wider argument.

His presence at the Fever-Sky game intensified matters. Kanter was sitting courtside wearing a shirt that read “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” Cloud approached him after scoring a basket, and security ultimately intervened as the confrontation escalated.

Kanter has offered his own account of what happened: "Third quarter, they put Sophie Cunningham in. I remember around the last three-minute mark, she shot the ball, and I put my hand in the air to celebrate it, right? And then Natasha Cloud saw my celebration. Literally, the next possession, she came back, and she started yelling at me and said, 'She's not going to sleep with you.'"

Cloud did not address the confrontation during her postgame media availability. She later posted a message supporting transgender people, writing that members of the transgender community belong to her community and should feel protected.

Kanter has meanwhile continued to align himself with Fever player Sophie Cunningham, whose comments about transgender athletes in women's sports have made her a prominent figure in the debate.

For Indiana, the priority remains basketball. The Fever are attempting to build momentum heading into the postseason, and their 113-90 victory over Chicago on Sunday further strengthened their position while eliminating the Sky from playoff contention.

Yet if Kanter follows through on his plan to attend Indiana's playoff games, the franchise could find itself sharing headlines with a controversy that has little to do with what happens on the court.

Kanter's stated intention is not simply to return to the WNBA. It is to remain visible around one of its most prominent teams at a time when the league is already grappling with an increasingly heated debate over gender, inclusion and eligibility.

Whether he is allowed to attend those games without further incident remains to be seen. But after Sunday's confrontation, Kanter has made one thing unmistakable: he does not plan to leave the WNBA conversation quietly.