Dallas, Texas, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. (17) looks on during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. hasn’t been a popular figure among WNBA players in recent times, but they might like what he had to say on the latest episode of his Curious Mike show. Porter welcomed Hollywood Unlocked CEO Jason Lee on it, and they were both critical of former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom for the Natasha Cloud incident.
Michael Porter Jr.: “For example, do you think Enes Kanter is doing what he’s doing for attention, or do you think what he’s doing it has some merit to it?”
Jason Lee: “Watching him mock those women like that, I thought he was being a b***h. I thought it was whack. What man goes to a WNBA game and heckles and taunts female players?”
Porter: “What I don’t understand with the whole situation is, it looks like he’s trying to make a point that transgenders should not be able to play.”
Lee: “So just say it.”
Porter: “So if he’s trying to protect the WNBA and the sport, why is he going to the game and kind of getting into it with them and kind of bullying them?”
Lee: “Right. You can have an opinion about trans women not participating in female sports, but when you start attacking the very people you’re acting like you’re an ally to, you’re not aligned with them in their cause. Why are you not advocating for higher pay? You’re just being a bully. I look at the greats and everything. What would Kobe Bryant do? He wouldn’t do that… You wanna be a courtside heckler because it somehow keeps your name in the conversation. And that’s just not respectable.”
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Porter is on point when he says Freedom, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, is trying to make the point that transgender women should not be allowed to play in the WNBA. There are those within the league who believe they should be, which is why the 34-year-old decided to act.
Freedom declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft in August to challenge the WNBA’s eligibility rules regarding transgender athletes. While that was controversial in itself, he took things up a notch when he attended the game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena on Aug. 23.
Freedom wore a shirt that read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” to the game and then got into a tense exchange with Cloud in the third quarter. He was ejected from the arena over the incident and was later banned by Sky owner Michael Alter.
While Freedom has pointed the blame at Cloud, Porter and Lee disapprove of his actions that night. They believe if he really wants to support the WNBA and its players, he shouldn’t be up to these antics.
Lee believes Freedom is looking to keep his name in the news, and Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink also thinks he is just trying to stay relevant. Brink also called him a “stupid piece of s***.” It would be an understatement to say she isn’t his biggest fan.
Freedom has now filed a lawsuit in Illinois against Chicago Women’s Basketball Operations, LLC, which operates the Sky, Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns the arena, and the city of Chicago. He claims his First Amendment rights were violated and wants the arena ban to be lifted.
Freedom sure is making Porter’s past antics seem like nothing. He revealed back in November 2025 that the Nets had told him to stop dissing the WNBA, and he has largely kept his mouth shut since.