Former NBA big man Enes Kanter Freedom is once again in the middle of a charged conversation about the league’s culture, and this time his comments landed squarely on LGBTQ+ issues.
During a recent interview with Clay Travis, Freedom was asked how many NBA players he believes support the idea of men who identify as women playing in the WNBA. His answer was blunt.
“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.”
Freedom, who was drafted No. 3 overall by the Utah Jazz in 2011, played 11 seasons in the NBA. His career also included stops with the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Boston Celtics. He is 34.
Freedom’s remarks came as part of a broader discussion about how NBA players might view a gay teammate. When Travis pressed him on that point, Freedom didn’t soften his stance.
“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.'”
The NBA has had only one openly gay player in league history: Jason Collins. Collins came out in a Sports Illustrated cover story in May 2013, and the Brooklyn Nets signed him in February 2014. He finished that season with Brooklyn, and there was no public indication that his teammates mistreated him.
There is also a well-known example of a former NBA player making openly anti-gay comments. Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway Sr. drew heavy criticism after being asked on The Dan Le Batard Show in 2007 how he would react to a gay teammate, shortly after former player John Amaechi had come out.
“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.”
Hardaway later apologized for the remarks, and the source material notes that he went on to become an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
Freedom’s comments also sit against a backdrop of criticism from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who in 2022 said famous athletes and owners sometimes promote racism, misogyny, and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments. Abdul-Jabbar was responding then to Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards using an anti-gay slur.
Edwards later apologized, and Abdul-Jabbar argued that meaningful repair would require voluntary community service with LGBTQ+ organizations rather than just an apology. Abdul-Jabbar also said those kinds of remarks revive the old stereotype of the dumb, bullying jock.
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