Tampa, Florida, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter (11) reacts to a call during the fourth quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Mary Holt-USA TODAY Sports
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom is no stranger to controversy after making one too many eyebrow-raising comments over time. Freedom notably caused a stir by declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft, and Clay Travis asked him during a recent interview how many NBA players he thinks believe that men who identify as women should be able to play in the WNBA.
“Over 70, 80 percent of NBA locker rooms are homophobic,” Freedom said. “They hate the LGBTQ community. They hate the trans community. But they will never come out and say it. So we actually had this conversations many time. Forget about men playing in women’s sports. We had these conversations in our locker room so many times, and this is not my view; this is my teammates I’m talking about.
“I played in five different locker rooms,” Freedom continued. “I had hundreds of teammates. And obviously, every time this conversation was coming up in a way… I’m being nice. I could easily say that over 70, 80 percent of these NBA locker rooms are homophobic. They hate the LGBTQ community.”
The Utah Jazz had selected Freedom with the No. 3 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, and he went on to play 11 seasons in the NBA. To go with the Jazz, the 34-year-old suited up for the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Boston Celtics.
It’s Freedom’s experience from being in those locker rooms that makes him believe that NBA players are anti-LGBTQ+. Now, in 2022, Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lamented how famous athletes and owners spout racism, misogyny, and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments. Abdul-Jabbar was reacting at the time to Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards using an anti-gay slur.
Edwards later apologized, but Abdul-Jabbar felt the way to repair the damage was voluntary community service with LGBTQ+ organizations. It’s unclear if the four-time All-Star did anything along those lines. Abdul-Jabbar believes simple apologies are meaningless and added that these sentiments being spouted revives the old stereotype of the dumb, bullying jock.
Enes Kanter Freedom Says There Is No Way NBA Players Want A Gay Teammate
Only one openly gay player has ever played in the NBA, the late Jason Collins. Collins came out as gay in a Sports Illustrated cover story in May 2013, and the Brooklyn Nets signed him in February 2014. He spent the rest of the season with the Nets, and you’d have thought more players would come out in the years that followed.
No one has, though, and Travis asked Freedom whether NBA players wouldn’t want a gay teammate.
“There’s no way,” Freedom said. “They will feel so uncomfortable. And when you ask them like, ‘Then why don’t you go out there and talk about it?’ They said, ‘Well, I have endorsement deals. I have contracts, and if I ever talk about it, I’ll be cancelled.'”
It should be pointed out that Collins received a lot of support from his peers. He never complained about his Nets teammates treating him unfairly.
Now there is one infamous example of a former NBA player openly making anti-gay comments. We’re, of course, referring to Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway Sr.
Back in 2007, former NBA player John Amaechi came out as gay a few years after playing his final league game in 2003. That led to Hardaway being asked on The Dan Le Batard Show how he’d react to having a gay teammate.
“Well, I hate gay people, so I let it be known,” Hardaway said. “I don’t like gay people, and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.”
The backlash for this was intense, and Hardaway has since apologized for his comments. Those weren’t just hollow words either, as he became an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Hardaway is a great example of a man overcoming past prejudices and trying to create a more inclusive environment.