Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter has hit back at Enes Kanter Freedom, calling the former NBA center's federal lawsuit against the WNBA team "meritless and frivolous" and insisting the truth will prevail in court.
Kanter, a former New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder center, announced on Thursday that he is suing the Chicago Sky, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) and the City of Chicago. The lawsuit, filed in Illinois, alleges the three entities unjustly ejected him from the Sky's game against the Indiana Fever on August 23 at Wintrust Arena.
Kanter has thrown himself into the trans athletes debate that has engulfed the WNBA in recent months, and has tried to use eligibility rules to enter next year's draft. He had an ugly altercation with Sky star Natasha Cloud while sitting courtside for the game against Sophie Cunningham, Caitlin Clark and the Fever.
He claims the three defendants mistreated him that night and that he did nothing wrong before they "combined and conspired to eject" him from the arena.
Alter's response
In a statement issued Friday, Alter said: "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."
"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," the statement continued.
"Freedom was removed for his conduct, not his speech. We look forward to the truth prevailing in court," Alter said, adding that on the advice of legal counsel the Sky would make no further public comments on the matter outside the courtroom given the pending litigation.
The shirt and the altercation
On the night of the incident, Kanter wore a T-shirt bearing a definition of the word woman: "Woman. Noun. Adult human female," with the words "woman" and "female" highlighted in red. He insists the shirt did not violate the WNBA's fan code of conduct.
Kanter admits he stood up and raised his arms during the game, but claims he was only celebrating a three-pointer by Cunningham. 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" against him. It further 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," the lawsuit stated.
What the lawsuit demands
Kanter is suing all three bodies and is demanding a permanent injunction lifting the ban on him 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.
Announcing the lawsuit on X on Thursday, 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," he continued. "I will not be intimidated. I will not be silenced. I will continue to stand for women and defend free speech."
Bid to become WNBA commissioner
Kanter said earlier on Friday that he wants to replace Cathy Engelbert as WNBA commissioner after she announced her retirement at the end of the calendar year. Engelbert has served as the league's commissioner since 2019.
He launched his campaign under the slogan "Make WNBA Female Again," 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," he said.
