Former Boston Celtics player Enes Kanter Freedom credited swim champ Riley Gaines for inspiring him to speak out against transgender inclusion in women’s sports.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Freedom, 31, said he met Gaines, 23, last year at the State of the Union and described her as a “very brave woman.” Freedom also called her efforts “amazing.”
“She is one of the biggest voices in women’s sports,” he added.
He continued, “She was actually one of the athletes that inspired me. We both went to the same college – Kentucky.”
Furthermore, Freedom praised other female athletes who also want to protect women’s sports.
https://twitter.com/EnesFreedom/status/1690035714165968896?%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1690035714165968896%7Ctwgr%5E917d2c1711310e30549f54efb607b03f6e33daf2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fijr.com%2Fenes-freedom-slams-transgender-athletes-in-womens-sports-after-being-blackballed-by-nba%2F
“So, no, not only her, but many other women athletes are coming out and saying, ‘This is just not fair, enough is enough. We worked so hard our whole life to get to this point and now there’s someone who is not even a woman, who is a biological male, comes out and who is stronger, who is bigger, who is taller, and now we are trying to compete against him,'” he stated, adding “Their interviews definitely inspired me a lot, big time.”
Which NBA team would have @brittneygriner since apparently the overwhelming, obvious differences between men and women should simply be overlooked? Heartbreaking to see athletically successful women take this demeaning stance.
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 30, 2023
And if we're going to talk about crimes, Brittney… https://t.co/cZpWYQShRI
Now, Freedom said he is determined to follow in their footsteps.
He shared:
“Now, I’m trying to do the same thing. I’m trying to inspire all the people out there who are scared to get cancelled. I had a conversation with many of them. I was like, ‘Listen, man, don’t be scared. We need your voice, too. My voice is strong, yes, but if you help me, if we become a team, no one is going to stand against us.’ But unfortunately, I haven’t seen any brave athlete yet.”
Freedom continued, “If we don’t speak up about this, their daughter will be competing against a biological male one day. And it’s just not fair for them.”
This came after he posted a tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he spoke out on the advantage biological men have over women in sports.
“Is that when the outrage will begin? Is that fair to all the women who spent their whole life chasing their goals? Where are all the Women Rights Activists and Feminists?!” he wrote.