Tyler Marsh
Aug 12, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh watches game play against the Golden State Valkyries during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
Sunday night’s game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky took a turn in the third quarter when former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom had to be removed from the arena after a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. After the game, Sky head coach Tyler Marsh had some praise for Cloud.
In his postgame press conference, Marsh said that he was “proud” of the Sky guard as he praised her for her passion for protecting “people who need to be protected.”
Kanter Ejected From Game
During Sunday’s game between the Fever and the Sky, Kanter sat courtside at wearing a black T-shirt that read: “WOMAN noun. adult human female,” a statement against trans women in women’s sports.
In the final minutes of the third quarter, tensions rose between Kanter and Cloud, resulting in a verbal altercation.
At one point, the Sky guard began walking toward Kanter and shouting at him. Kanter, meanwhile, was standing with his arms outstretched and stepped toward the court before security escorted him out.
Kanter then pumped his fist and mocked Cloud by making a talking gesture with his hand. Eventually, he waved his arms to the crowd before holding out his shirt to show its message while leaving.
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Natasha Cloud gets into it with Enes Kanter during Fever/Sky.
Kanter was escorted out of the arena.pic.twitter.com/ZKrYxVZVDu
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) August 24, 2026
During an interview with right-wing sports outlet OutKick after the game, Kanter said that Cloud came up to him after he celebrated a three-pointer from Sophie Cunningham.
“Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate,” Kanter said via OutKick. “Literally, a couple possessions later, Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling and said, ‘She’s not gonna sleep with you.’
“And I was like, ‘I am not trying to sleep with her. I’m just here to protect women and support her.’ And then, obviously, after that she started yapping, and she started to walk towards me, and literally I just got up, and then I was like, ‘I’m just here to protect women, and that’s all.’”
After the game, Cloud took to social media to address the incident as she vowed to “protect” the trans community.
To every trans kid/person, You are a part of MY community & tribe. You belong. You’re loved. You’re seen. You’re perfect as you are.
& you will always be protected by me,” Cloud wrote in a post on Threads.
Marsh ‘Proud’ of Cloud
During his postgame press conference, Marsh expressed his support for Cloud.
“I talked to the team and Tash didn’t want to feel like she was a distraction, I told her she wasn’t. I told that we all embrace her as someone that protects our team and protects people that need to be protected. And so Tash is always going to stand on that and we stand for Tash,” Marsh said at the postgame press conference.
Marsh praised Cloud for her passion and said that he is proud of the way she and the team reacted.
“I just told the team that I’m proud of how we ride for each other,” Marsh said. “She’s passionate, and she’s passionate about the things she believes in, she’s passionate about her teammates and we’re passionate about her.”
When asked if he had a message for Kanter, Marsh said that he thinks people who come to the games should come to enjoy the basketball, not make politcal or social statements.
“I think that there’s so much good things about this league and so many good things about the play of these players and if you come to a game you should probably come to enjoy the basketball and that seems pretty simple to me. I think these players deserve that and have earned that. Being a former basketball player you should understand and feel that too,” Marsh said.
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