​Photo by Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesChicago Sky owner Michael Alter has a blunt response to Enes Kanter Freedom’s federal lawsuit: See you in court.Alter called Freedom’s case “meritless and frivolous” on Friday, September 4, one day after the former NBA player sued the Sky and other defendants over his ejection from an August 23 game and subsequent ban from Wintrust Arena. Freedom claims he was punished for exercising his First Amendment rights. Alter says the evidence—including Freedom’s own lawsuit—tells a different story.“Freedom’s claim that he was removed from Wintrust Arena due to his speech is false,” Alter said, according to The New York Times. “As his own complaint acknowledges, he wore the shirt in question for multiple hours without any contact with security.”
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COMPLEX SHOP: Shop the brands you love, anytime and anywhere. Uncover what’s next. Buy. Collect. Obsess.That shirt read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female,” and Freedom has made it central to his claim that the Sky targeted him for his views on transgender participation in women’s sports. But Alter argues security didn’t intervene because of anything printed across Freedom’s chest. They intervened after his confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud.During the third quarter, Cloud approached Freedom as he sat courtside, and the two exchanged words. Freedom then rose from his seat, gestured, and stepped toward the court before security moved in.“Security removed Freedom only after he violated the fan code of conduct by rising from his seat, gesturing at a player, and stepping toward the court,” Alter said. “Freedom was removed for his conduct, not his speech. We look forward to the truth prevailing in court.”That conduct-versus-speech distinction now sits at the center of a federal case.Freedom sued the Sky, Wintrust Arena owner Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the City of Chicago, alleging the three worked together to eject him in retaliation for protected expression. He wants the court to declare that his First Amendment rights were violated, lift his indefinite arena ban, and award legal fees along with nominal and compensatory damages.The lawsuit is the latest escalation in Freedom’s increasingly sprawling fight with the WNBA. He previously attempted to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft as part of his campaign against transgender women competing in women’s sports, although the league has confirmed he is not eligible. No transgender woman has ever played in the WNBA, and there are currently no transgender athletes petitioning for inclusion in the WNBA. Freedom subsequently demanded that the league explicitly limit eligibility to “biological females” and even challenged Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to a public “peace summit” moderated by Caitlyn Jenner.The WNBA has declined to play along, saying there are “no immediate eligibility matters affecting” the league and condemn