Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter has issued a sharply worded response to Enes Kanter Freedom, saying he expects the “truth” to emerge in court after the former NBA player filed a federal lawsuit against the WNBA franchise.
Kanter Freedom, who previously played for teams including the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder, said Thursday that he is taking legal action against the Chicago Sky, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the City of Chicago.
The lawsuit, filed in Illinois, centers on his removal from the Sky’s August 23 matchup against the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena, where he alleges he was wrongfully ejected.
The former center has also inserted himself into the ongoing debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports, a controversy that has increasingly surrounded the WNBA, by attempting to use eligibility rules to enter next year’s draft.
The incident at Wintrust Arena escalated after Kanter Freedom, seated courtside for the Sky’s game against a Fever team featuring Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark, became involved in a tense exchange with Chicago guard Natasha Cloud.
In his complaint, Kanter Freedom claims the three defendants mistreated him during the game and maintains he had done nothing improper before they allegedly “combined and conspired to eject” him from the venue.
Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter has forcefully responded to Enes Kanter Freedom’s lawsuit
The former NBA player was removed from a Chicago Sky game following an exchange with Natasha Cloud
But in a statement on Friday, in response to Kanter’s ‘meritless and frivolous’ lawsuit, Alter said he will ‘look forward to the truth prevailing in court.’
‘We received word that the entity owning the Chicago Sky is being sued by Mr. Enes Kanter Freedom for allegedly violating his First Amendment rights. This lawsuit is meritless and frivolous,’ the statement read.
‘Freedom’s claim that he was removed from Wintrust Arena due to his speech is false. As his own complaint acknowledges, he wore the shirt in question for multiple hours without any contact with security. Security removed Freedom only after he violated fan code of conduct by rising from his seat, gesturing at a player, and stepping toward the court.
‘Freedom was removed for his conduct, not his speech. We look forward to the truth prevailing in court.
‘At the advice of our legal counsel, given that there is now pending litigation, we will have no further public comments on the matter outside of the courtroom.’
On the night of the incident, Kanter chose to wear a provocative T-shirt that included a definition of the word woman. ‘Woman. Noun,’ it read. ‘Adult human female.’ The words woman and female were highlighted in red. He insists that did not violate the WNBA’s Fan Code of Conduct.
While he admits to standing up and raising his arms during the game, Kanter claims that was just to celebrate a Cunningham three-pointer. He has previously alleged that Cloud told him: ‘She’s not going to sleep with you.’
In the lawsuit, Kanter claims Cloud ‘without provocation, initiated a vulgar, profanity-laced verbal tirade’ at him.
The former Knicks ace also wore a provocative t-shirt with a definition of a woman at the game
In a post on X announcing his lawsuit on Thursday, Kanter wrote: ‘SEE YOU IN COURT!!!’
Kanter has alleged that Cloud told him Sophie Cunningham is ‘not going to sleep with you’
It also alleges Cloud ‘charged nearly half the length of the court toward where Plaintiff Freedom was sitting courtside’ before she ‘cursed and yelled at Plaintiff saying that Ms. Cunningham was not going to sleep with Plaintiff Freedom.’
‘Plaintiff Freedom believes that Cloud’s attack was motivated and triggered by the message on Plaintiff’s shirt and Plaintiff’s widely publicized viewpoint on protecting the integrity of women only sports,’ it continued.
Kanter is suing all three bodies and is demanding a permanent injunction lifting the ban on him that was imposed by Alter.
‘The Chicago Sky; MPEA, through Wintrust Arena Security; and the City of Chicago, by its Police Department, worked together to eject Plaintiff in retaliation for protected expression, and continue to work together to enforce the ongoing, unconstitutional ban of Plaintiff from Wintrust Arena, which is public property owned by MPEA,’ the lawsuit stated.
In a post on X announcing his lawsuit, Kanter wrote: ‘SEE YOU IN COURT!!! Just filed a federal complaint. I’m taking legal action over my ejection from the @ChicagoSky game while peacefully exercising my First Amendment rights.
‘My T-shirt did what the whole @WNBA apparently couldn’t: define a woman. No threats. No violence. Just biology. And somehow, that required a security escort. You don’t have to agree with my speech but you don’t get to silence me for it.
‘I will not be intimidated. I will not be silenced. I will continue to stand for women and defend free speech.’
Kanter said earlier on Friday he wants to replace Cathy Engelbert as the new WNBA Commissioner after she announced her retirement at the end of the calendar year.
And he stole Donald Trump’s slogan to launch his campaign, declaring he wants to ‘Make WNBA Female Again’ and saying: ‘Commissioner Freedom has a nice ring to it.’
In a video posted on social media while wearing a baseball jersey with ‘WNBA’ written across the front, he said: ‘While the reported retirement of WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is a win for women and an admission that the league’s rules must change, her retirement does not solve the systemic issues which must be addressed in order to protect women’s sports.
‘If the WNBA is unable to define what a woman is, then I, Enes Kanter Freedom, would be more than happy to step in as commissioner and lead this league back to greatness and restore fairness for all women. I’ll bring common sense. I’ll bring fairness. And yes, I’ll bring a dictionary.’
