{"id":887146,"date":"2026-09-07T20:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T20:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/887146\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T20:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T20:50:11","slug":"enes-kanter-freedom-reveals-sophie-cunningham-text-after-wnba-ejection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/887146\/","title":{"rendered":"Enes Kanter Freedom reveals Sophie Cunningham text after WNBA ejection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enes Kanter Freedom says his support for Sophie Cunningham has included a private exchange with the Indiana Fever guard.<\/p>\n

During an appearance on Fox News\u2019 \u201cThe Big Weekend Show,\u201d Kanter Freedom said he exchanged texts<\/a> with Cunningham following his Aug. 23 ejection from the Fever-Chicago Sky game at Wintrust Arena. Her question, according to Kanter Freedom, was direct: \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kanter Freedom said he answered, \u201cI just got up and opened my arms in the air and said, \u2018I\u2019m here to protect my friends.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EnesIndiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham celebrates a three-point shot against the Chicago Sky during the first half at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, August 23, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

He did not release screenshots, reveal the rest of the conversation or identify who texted first. Cunningham\u2019s question is therefore the only piece of their private correspondence Kanter Freedom has made public.<\/p>\n

Kanter Freedom used the disclosure to describe their relationship as a friendship grounded in shared views on women\u2019s sports. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s standing for the truth\u2026 I think she\u2019s an idol now and an American hero,\u201d Kanter said. \u201cI\u2019m just really happy that finally someone from the WNBA got up and said, \u2018Enough is enough. We have to stand for American values.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham previously said<\/a> she wanted to \u201cprotect young girls\u201d from competing against \u201cbiological men,\u201d while rejecting claims that she hates transgender people. Unlike Kanter Freedom, however, she has not publicly joined a broader campaign against the WNBA\u2019s eligibility policies.<\/p>\n

That boundary matters. <\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom watches Indiana Fever players warm up before a WNBA basketball game against the Chicago Sky on Sunday, August 23, 2026, in Chicago. AP Photo\/Nam Y. Huh<\/p>\n

Kanter Freedom declared himself eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft<\/a>, demanded that the league revise its eligibility language and challenged Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to a public summit. Cunningham has not been identified as a collaborator in those efforts.<\/p>\n

Kanter Freedom said his support for Cunningham brought him courtside for the Fever-Sky matchup. After Chicago guard Natasha Cloud directed comments toward him, Kanter Freedom stood, extended his arms and moved toward the court before security escorted him from the arena<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The episode has since entered federal court. Kanter Freedom sued the Sky and other defendants<\/a> over his ejection and indefinite arena ban, claiming his speech was unlawfully punished. Sky owner Michael Alter called the complaint \u201cmeritless and frivolous,\u201d maintaining that Kanter Freedom was removed for his conduct rather than the message on his shirt.<\/p>\n

For now, the evidence of their relationship remains narrow: Kanter Freedom calls Cunningham a friend, and she apparently asked what happened. Anything more expansive remains his characterization, not a public partnership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Enes Kanter Freedom says his support for Sophie Cunningham has included a private exchange with the Indiana Fever…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":887147,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,3335,48,726,71219,2803,10879,82,630],"class_list":["post-887146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-canada","tag-chicago-sky","tag-enes-kanter","tag-indiana-fever","tag-sophie-cunningham","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/887147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}