enes kanter freedom said the wnba kicked him out. it offered him a private luxury suite with extra security. he chose the sidewalk.

Photo: Enes Kanter Freedom. Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

via the Associated Press, Front Office Sports and the New York Post

Here is a list of things the Atlanta Dream and State Farm Arena gave Enes Kanter Freedom for Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Wednesday night: a private luxury suite, additional security in that suite, and a state police officer assigned to him personally, at his request.

Here is what he did with them: nothing. He left.

what actually happened in atlanta

Kanter Freedom, the former NBA player now running a one-man campaign against trans women in sports, had announced he would be at Game 3 between the Dream and the Golden State Valkyries. Minutes before tip-off, Front Office Sports reports, the arena and the team put out a statement. It said he "has contacted federal, state and local authorities, the WNBA, the Atlanta Dream and State Farm Arena officials to express concerns about his personal safety," and that after consulting the league, team ownership, arena leadership and security, "we have directed Mr. Freedom to watch tonight's game from a private luxury suite." The suite would have extra security, the statement said, and "State police have also assigned an officer to Mr. Freedom at his request."

He did not want the suite. He wanted the seats he bought. "Just talked to director of security of the @NBA and they are now banning us from our purchased seats," he posted at 7:20 p.m. "I guess they have to escort me out of the building. Stay tuned."

Nobody escorted him anywhere. In his own video, AP reports, he is told at the entry gate, "If you come in you have to agree to go to the suite." He answers: "I purchased tickets, right? Just because I purchased tickets, I would like to sit in my seat. That's all I want." A State Farm Arena spokesperson told AP he "was offered the suite for his safety and he rejected it."

the halftime post

At halftime he posted: "I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for the second time in a row for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!" The first time was real. In August he was ejected from a Sky game in Chicago after an exchange with Natasha Cloud and banned from that arena. This time, by the accounts of the AP and the Post, he was turned away at the gate after declining the nicer seat.

It capped a week that started with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert telling a congressman that "only women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men." He says he wants to enter the WNBA draft. The league answered in one sentence. He answered by asking for a safer seat, getting one, and calling it persecution.

The women, for the record, played the whole game.