Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter has issued a strong rebuttal to a federal lawsuit filed by former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, describing the suit as "meritless and frivolous." Freedom is suing the Chicago Sky, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), and the City of Chicago, alleging they unjustly ejected him from a WNBA game on August 23.
Freedom claims he was mistreated and conspired against for his ejection from the Wintrust Arena during a game between the Sky and the Indiana Fever. The former center stated in his lawsuit that his ejection was a violation of his First Amendment rights, stemming from a T-shirt he wore that defined "woman" as "adult human female." He also alleges that Sky player Natasha Cloud initiated a verbal confrontation with him.
Alter, however, contested Freedom's account, stating that the T-shirt message did not lead to his removal. According to Alter, Freedom wore the shirt for hours without issue. His removal, Alter stated, only occurred 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," Alter said in a statement. "We look forward to the truth prevailing in court."
Freedom's lawsuit claims that Cloud, "without provocation, initiated a vulgar, profanity-laced verbal tirade" at him and "cursed and yelled at Plaintiff saying that Ms. Cunningham was not going to sleep with Plaintiff Freedom." The lawsuit further alleges that Cloud's actions were motivated by Freedom's widely publicized viewpoint on "protecting the integrity of women only sports."
Freedom is seeking a permanent injunction to lift what he describes as an unconstitutional ban from Wintrust Arena, which he claims is public property. He announced his lawsuit on X, writing, "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." He added, "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." Freedom also stated, "I will not be intimidated. I will not be silenced. I will continue to stand for women and defend free speech."
In separate remarks, Freedom also expressed his interest in replacing Cathy Engelbert as the WNBA Commissioner, stating he would be "more than happy to step in as commissioner and lead this league back to greatness and restore fairness for all women." He declared his intention to "Make WNBA Female Again," a slogan previously used by Donald Trump.
The Chicago Sky and its owner stated they would not comment further on the matter outside of the courtroom due to the pending litigation.