Sky owner calls Kanter Freedom lawsuit 'meritless'

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  Kareem CopelandSep 4, 2026, 04:25 PM ET

Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter called a lawsuit filed by Enes Kanter Freedom "meritless and frivolous" Friday afternoon.

Kanter Freedom alleged that his First Amendment rights were violated when he was removed from a Sky home game Aug. 23 and then banned from attending Sky games at the arena. The former NBA player was removed from the building after getting in a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter against the Indiana Fever. He was sitting courtside in a black T-shirt that read: "WOMAN noun. adult human female."

Kanter Freedom put up his arms and began to walk toward the court from his baseline seat as he and Cloud exchanged words. He stepped past media camera operators to approach the floor; security stopped him and subsequently ejected him. Alter had previously explained that Kanter Freedom made himself "the potential to be a threat" by stepping toward the court and players.

A 15-page complaint was filed Thursday in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division and listed the defendants as the Sky, the city of Chicago, and Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns and operates Wintrust Arena

"This lawsuit is meritless and frivolous," Alter said in a statement Friday. "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."

Kanter Freedom has inserted himself in the political realm in recent years and has been vocal in the national debate sparked by Fever guard Sophie Cunningham's comments regarding transgender athletes. He and former NBA player Royce White recently declared themselves women and eligible to play in the WNBA. They are not eligible to play in the league, multiple sources told ESPN.

On social media, Kanter Freedom posted that he was "peacefully exercising" his First Amendment rights.

"My T-shirt did what the whole WNBA apparently couldn't: define a woman," Kanter Freedom wrote. "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."