Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter has shared a statement after former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom launched a lawsuit against the WNBA franchise.
Kanter attended the August 23 game between the Sky and the Indiana Fever, getting ejected in the third quarter after a courtside interaction with Natasha Cloud.
Kanter has sued the Sky over violating his First Amendment rights, claiming he was ejected for the T-shirt he wore with the literal definition of a woman to attack trans identity.
Sky owner clarifies reason for Enes Kanter’s ejection in new statement
Team owner Alter issued a statement immediately after Kanter’s lawsuit became a reality, calling the suit ‘meritless and frivolous’ because he was ejected after getting into it with Cloud, not for the questionable T-shirt he wore.
“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.”
“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.”
Enes Kanter is banned from attending Chicago Sky games
Kanter’s appearance at the Sky vs. Fever game led to the Sky officially banning Kanter from attending their home games again.
The 33-year-old is trying to declare for the WNBA Draft, but the league has already blocked his potential entry by using the CBA’s lack of language regarding the definition of a woman.
Kanter also intends to sue the league if he cannot enter the Draft, unless the league comes out with explicit rules that ban trans athletes from participating.
The WNBA has dismissed him as a bad-faith actor, but there is no official Kanter ban at other WNBA games, as the league has yet to step in and stop him from potentially sidetracking another game by attending.
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