Former NBA big man Enes Kanter Freedom, alongside another former NBA hooper, Royce White have made headlines over the last month by declaring for the WNBA Draft. Their reasoning has everything to do with the two protesting and challenging the league’s gender eligibility rules regarding self-identification and transgender inclusion.
In wake of doing so, Kanter Freedom was just recently banned from a Chicago Sky game and Wintrust Arena home of the Sky, following an a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. That was triggered by Freedom’s T-shirt that he wore while sitting next to the court, and it read like this:
“WOMAN noun. adult human female.”
Kanter Freedom Files Lawsuit Against Sky And Team Owners
On Thursday the Turkey native filed a 15-page complaint in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division. There he stated that his felt his First Amendment rights were violated when he was removed from the August 23 game.
“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.”
Sky Owner Michael Alter Calls Kanter Freedom A Threat
When speaking to reporters when Kanter Freedom’s ban was announced last week, Alter said Kanter Freedom had begun to “chirp” and “engage” Cloud in what he believes was an effort to provoke her. Cloud has been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ rights.
“[Kanter Freedom] has demonstrated to us, unequivocally, that he has the potential to be a threat,” Alter said last week. “That he is not able to control himself to the extent where we can be comfortable that he may [not] step towards the court again and towards the players. So that is the basis for which we will not permit him into the building until such time as he can prove otherwise.”
“I heard him last night, he said, ‘Well, I didn’t cross the baseline,’ as if though that’s some magical threshold,” Alter said. “One reason he didn’t cross the baseline was because he was prevented from doing so. But regardless of that, the security people’s job is not to wait until a threat intensifies. It’s to avoid the threat from happening when [a] perceived threat occurs, and that’s exactly what they did.
“He started walking. They didn’t wait to see how far he was going to walk or what he was going to do when he got there.”
Fans Chime In
The announcement of Kanter Freedom’s quickly drew a rise from fans via social media and they had plenty to say.
“Tossed from a WNBA game over a T-shirt with a dictionary definition on it. If your league can’t survive two words, the lawsuit is the least of your problems,” a fan said.
“This isn’t the government, it’s a basketball team. It will be thrown out,” another fan said.
“Good to hear. The WNBA won’t be able to keep this strong woman down!!!” someone else replied.
“Nice!!! I’m with her (Enes) and her (Roysha,” a person joked.
“Sue them into bankruptcy Enes,” a fan commented.
“Suing over an ejection feels like a stretch, but the controversy behind it makes this a much bigger story than a typical game incident,” someone quipped.
