Atlanta Dream move Enes Kanter Freedom into suite as safety measure for WNBA Finals game
· Yahoo Sports
ATLANTA — Enes Kanter Freedom, the former NBA journeyman-turned-online agitator, will watch Game 3 of the WNBA Finals from a private luxury suite after voicing concerns about his personal safety to federal, state and local authorities, the WNBA, the Atlanta Dream and State Farm Arena.
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Freedom contacted law enforcement, including federal authorities, and league officials to express concern for his safety during his plans to attend Wednesday’s game, according to the statement from the Dream. Moving him to a suite is “intended to address his security concerns and help provide a safe and positive experience for him and other guests,” the statement read.
Additional arena security has been assigned to his suite and, at his request, state police have also assigned an officer to protect him.
Four days before Game 3, Freedom announced he would be in the crowd and name-dropped Dream center Angel Reese and Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams in his social media post. Opposition to transgender athletes has become a cause célèbre for Freedom, who played 748 games across 11 seasons in the NBA and last appeared in a game in 2022.
He previously attended a Chicago Sky game in August wearing a T-shirt that read “WOMAN noun adult human female” and was ejected from his courtside seat after he engaged in a heated, in-game verbal exchange with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. The Sky banned Freedom from its home arena after the confrontation.
Freedom began posting about threats he received after announcing he was traveling to Atlanta for Game 3.
“The safety and security of our guests and team members is our highest priority,” the Dream’s statement read.
In the days leading up to the game, neither the WNBA nor the Dream had any official comment on Freedom’s attendance, though a plan for a significant uptick in security was expected. The Dream released the statement about Freedom’s seating arrangements roughly 40 minutes before Game 3’s tipoff.
The teams largely evaded comment on Freedom before the game.
“Obviously the media has a responsibility in what they choose to cover,” Williams said before warmups Wednesday.
Said Atlanta coach Karl Smesko: “Everyone is here to watch a great basketball game between two great teams, with some of the best players in the world. We’re focused on that.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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