Former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom has claimed that he will be under FBI protection when he attends Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday evening.
Kanter Freedom made headlines in August after declaring for the WNBA Draft in protest of the league’s gender eligibility criteria and later sparked further drama when he was ejected from a Chicago Sky game following a heated courtside confrontation.
Two months on from his ejection, the ex-NBA star revealed his plans to return to the WNBA sidelines for the clash between the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream.
Speaking to OutKick ahead of the showdown at the State Farm Arena, Kanter Freedom revealed: ‘We are in touch with FBI. We have our own security.’
‘We have a conversation with the governor [Brian Kemp] and he’s providing us security as well. But we are in touch with FBI as well. There’s going to be a lot of FBI officers around the game, so, and they will be protecting us.’
On October 17, Kanter Freedom revealed his intentions to attend Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on social media, sparking a wave of backlash from users online.
Enes Kanter Freedom claims he will be under FBI protection at Game 3 of the WNBA Finals
The ex-NBA star confirmed that he will attend the game between the Dream and Valkyries
‘Look, I’m just simply saying that I’m going to be attending the game,’ he said.
‘My DMs are full of pictures and videos of the moment that Charlie Kirk got shot, and they’re saying that you’re going to be next very soon,’ Freedom added. ‘It’s a shame.’
Similarly, Kanter Freedom took to social media on Tuesday afternoon to share a compilation of some of the hateful messages which he’d received from users.
One message which he showed read: ‘He might not make it out the city untouched honestly [laughing emoji]’.
Another post read: ‘Atlanta you know what to do’.
Game 3 of the WNBA Finals is scheduled to take place at 8pm ET at State Farm Arena, Atlanta. The series is currently tied 1-1 after an Atlanta win on Monday night.
The shocking update comes just one day after Kanter Freedom revealed that his hopes of declaring for the WNBA Draft had been dashed by the league.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert informed Republican lawmakers that neither Kanter Freedom nor fellow ex-NBA star Royce White were eligible for the 2027 Draft.
It comes two months after Kanter Freedom was ejected from a Chicago Sky game
Meanwhile, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert revealed that Kanter Freedom and Royce White will not be eligible for the 2027 Draft
Taking to X, Kanter shared an email from the league sent to his representatives which addressed both his ejection from the Sky game and his Draft aspirations.
It read: ‘With respect to your questions regarding eligibility, only women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men.
‘The WNBA will continue its efforts to ensure the safety, fair treatment and well-being of our players and personnel, including working to address the significant amount of hate and vitriol directed at WNBA players online and on social media’.
In response to the WNBA’s decision, Kanter wrote on X: ‘Ladies and gentlemen of America, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The WNBA has officially responded.
‘Apparently, the WNBA still can’t define what a WOMAN is, but they’re absolutely certain they know what a MAN is! How convenient!
‘WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has declared that I am a man. Who gave her the authority to decide who I am? Who gets to define my identity?
‘And how can the WNBA determine who is a man without explaining what qualifies someone as a woman?
‘Is the WNBA denying people the right to define their own gender identity? You can’t have it both ways! The WNBA has some explaining to do!’
