09/04/26 05:30:00
Printable Page
09/04 17:28 CDT Sky owner Michael Alter calls Enes Kanter Freedom lawsuit
'meritless and frivolous'
Sky owner Michael Alter calls Enes Kanter Freedom lawsuit 'meritless and
frivolous'
By JAY COHEN
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO (AP) --- Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter says a lawsuit filed by former
NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom is "meritless and frivolous."
Freedom is alleging that his First Amendment rights were violated when he was
ejected from the Sky's WNBA game against the Indiana Fever on Aug. 23. He is
seeking damages and the removal of his ban when it comes to attending games at
Wintrust Arena.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Illinois, names Chicago
Women's Basketball Operations, LLC, which runs the Sky, the Metropolitan Pier
and Exposition Authority, the corporation that owns the arena, and the city of
Chicago as defendants.
"Freedom was removed for his conduct, not his speech," Alter said Friday in a
statement released by the Sky. "We look forward to the truth prevailing in
court."
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Freedom was removed from the game after he was
confronted by Sky guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter.
Freedom was sitting along the baseline wearing a black shirt that read "WOMAN
noun. adult human female."
The Fever called for a timeout after Cloud scored inside with 1:22 left in the
period. Cloud then did a chest bump with teammate Aicha Coulibaly before
turning around and walking in Freedom's direction.
Cloud, 34, started yelling and pointing at Freedom, 34, as she approached him.
A standing Freedom held his arms out and stepped onto the court as security and
a handful of Sky players moved in between the two.
Freedom stopped near the basket to plead his case to security as he was
escorted from the court area. He spun around while holding his shirt out and
encouraged the crowd to respond as he walked toward the front lobby.
He had a conversation with a group of police officers before departing the
arena.
"The Defendants combined and conspired, and acted jointly to execute their
conspiracy, to discriminate against Plaintiff based on Plaintiff's verbal and
demonstrable expression of viewpoint and gender identity when they wrongfully
ejected Plaintiff from a recent WNBA game," Freedom's lawsuit reads.
"Defendants compounded and exacerbated Plaintiff's injuries when they
subsequently banned Plaintiff indefinitely from attendance."
Alter announced on Aug. 25 that Freedom was banned from Sky games at Wintrust
Arena until he is "able to prove to us to our satisfaction that he is able to
abide by our rules without being a potential threat."
In Friday's statement, Alter said Freedom's assertion that he was removed
because of his speech was false.
"As his own complaint acknowledges, he wore the shirt in question for multiple
hours without any contact with security," Alter said. "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 WNBA has been the subject of recent debates on whether transgender women
--- people assigned male at birth who transition to align with their gender
identity --- should be allowed to participate in the league. There has never
been such a player in the WNBA.
Although the league's collective bargaining agreement says the WNBA is
restricted to women, it contains no more specific language about gender
identity or sex assigned at birth.
Freedom and Royce White, another former NBA player, have declared for the WNBA
draft, saying they identify as women. But a person familiar with the decision
told the AP that they are not eligible. The person spoke on condition of
anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation.
"You don't have to agree with my speech but you don't get to silence me for
it," Freedom posted on social media on Thursday. "I will not be intimidated. I
will not be silenced. I will continue to stand for women and defend free
speech."
___
See AP's full WNBA coverage here
|
