{"id":941817,"date":"2026-10-22T07:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T07:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/941817\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T07:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T07:54:13","slug":"enes-kanter-freedom-denied-entry-after-refusing-wnba-finals-suite-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/941817\/","title":{"rendered":"Enes Kanter Freedom denied entry after refusing WNBA Finals suite – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom said he was refused entry to Game 3 of the WNBA Finals in Atlanta on Wednesday night after declining to sit in a private suite.<\/p>\n

In a video posted to X before the game, Freedom said security at State Farm Arena was \u201cbanning us from our purchased seats,\u201d adding, \u201cI guess they have to escort me out of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n

At halftime, Freedom posted another video showing him being told at the entry gate, \u201cIf you come in, you have to agree to go to the suite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freedom replied that he wanted to sit in the seats he had purchased. An Atlanta police officer then told him he was \u201cfree to go to the city of Atlanta streets. That\u2019s another private establishment over there. He\u2019s free to go there. He just can\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the game, State Farm Arena said Freedom had \u201ccontacted federal, state and local authorities, the WNBA, the Atlanta Dream and State Farm Arena officials\u201d to express concerns about his personal safety at Game 3 between the Dream and Golden State Valkyries.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the arena said, \u201cThe safety and security of our guests and team members is our highest priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing consultations with the WNBA, Dream ownership, State Farm Arena leadership and security officials, we have directed Mr. Freedom to watch tonight\u2019s game from a private luxury suite. This arrangement is intended to address his security concerns and help provide a safe and positive experience for him and other guests. The suite will have additional security and will be his designated viewing location for the game. State police have also assigned an officer to Mr. Freedom at his request.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freedom has not attended a WNBA game since he was ejected in late August following a heated exchange with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud in a contest against the visiting Indiana Fever. He said he wanted to attend Game 3 of the Finals after Valkyries player Gabby Williams said she would support a transgender athlete competing in the WNBA.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you all know, this all started with an interview featuring Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries, when she said, \u2018I have no problem with trans athletes playing on my team or against my team,’\u201d Freedom said in a post Monday. \u201cHer words gave me so much hope and motivation to come out as a woman and officially declare for the WNBA draft. I can\u2019t wait to watch my favorite player, the woman who inspired me to become who I am today!\u201d<\/p>\n

Freedom and former NBA player Royce White have said they identify as women and have declared for the WNBA draft. According to a letter shared by Freedom, league Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said they are ineligible to play in the league.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Freedom shared Engelbert\u2019s letter responding to questions about the WNBA\u2019s eligibility rules from U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.).<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men,\u201d Engelbert wrote, referring to Freedom and White.<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently the WNBA still can\u2019t define what a WOMAN is,\u201d Freedom replied, \u201cbut they\u2019re absolutely certain they know what a MAN is! How convenient!\u201d<\/p>\n

Freedom, 34, played in the NBA with the Utah Jazz (2011-12 to 2014-15), Oklahoma City Thunder (2014-15 to 2016-17), New York Knicks (2017-18 to 2018-19), Portland Trail Blazers (2018-19 and 2020-21) and Boston Celtics (2019-20 and 2021-22). <\/p>\n

Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds to help the Dream take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Finals with a 97-71 victory over the Valkyries on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom said he was refused entry to Game 3 of the WNBA Finals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":941818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-941817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941817","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=941817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/941817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=941817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=941817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=941817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}