Per the complaint, Freedom wore a black T-shirt reading "WOMAN noun, adult human female" while sitting courtside.
Published: 9/3/2026, 10:42:29 PM EDT
Former basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom looks on courtside prior to the game between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Aug. 23, 2026. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom has filed a federal lawsuit against the Chicago Sky’s operating company, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), and the City of Chicago.
He alleges the three coordinated to unlawfully eject him from a WNBA game, and indefinitely ban him from Wintrust Arena because of his views on women’s sports.
The complaint, [filed](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.507222/gov.uscourts.ilnd.507222.1.0.pdf) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, names Chicago Women's Basketball Operations LLC—which owns and runs the Sky—along with MPEA, the public agency that built and manages Wintrust Arena, and the city itself as defendants.
Freedom is seeking a court order lifting his indefinite ban, along with damages and attorney fees.Freedom was removed from Wintrust Arena on Aug. 23 after Sky guard Natasha Cloud confronted him along the baseline during the third quarter of Indiana's 113-90 win over Chicago.
Cloud approached Freedom yelling and pointing after scoring inside with 1:22 left in the quarter, prompting security and several Sky players to step between them. Freedom, who stood with his arms out and took one step onto the court, was then escorted out by arena staff and police.
Freedom's lawsuit describes the incident differently, stating that Cloud, without provocation, ran nearly half the length of the court toward him while cursing and yelling that Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was "not going to sleep with" him. According to the complaint, Freedom simply responded, "I'm not trying to sleep with her. I'm just here to protect women and support her."
Former basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom and Natasha Cloud #9 of the Chicago Sky yell at one another during the second half between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Aug. 23, 2026. Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Per the complaint, Freedom wore a black T-shirt reading "WOMAN noun, adult human female" while sitting courtside. The lawsuit contends the shirt bore no obscene or indecent content, which is the only clothing restriction in the WNBA Fan Code of Conduct.
The suit further claims that as Freedom walked into the arena before the game, Sky fans hurled slurs and profanity at him, none of whom were warned or ejected despite the code of conduct's prohibitions.The complaint cites Sky owner Michael Alter as telling Fox News that "certain threats don't get warnings," comparing Freedom's reaction to Cloud to "shooting a gun at someone." Alter also told ESPN, as quoted in the filing, that Freedom "demonstrated to us unequivocally that he has the potential to be a threat" and would remain barred "until such time as he can prove otherwise."
According to the lawsuit, Alter said he would not give Freedom a "roadmap" for lifting the ban, stating: "He has to prove to us that he understands that what he did was completely beyond the pale and not allowed and is never going to happen again. So how he does that is up to him to figure out."
The filing also states that Alter alerted arena security before the game began, claiming Freedom's ticket wasn't purchased under his own name and suggesting he had bad intentions—an allegation Freedom's suit says was never applied to other fans in similar circumstances.Per the lawsuit, Alter confirmed the Sky do not plan to discipline Cloud for her actions. Cloud met with team and league security after the game but did not speak to reporters. Sky coach Tyler Marsh said that he had reassured Cloud she wasn't a distraction, saying, "I told her that we all embrace her as someone that protects our team and protects people that need to be protected."
The lawsuit also references a Threads post attributed to Cloud after the game, stating in part, "To every trans kid/person, You are a part of MY community and tribe. You belong. You are loved."Freedom's complaint reiterates his long-standing position that he is eligible for the WNBA because self-identification is "all that is required" under the league's rules and collective bargaining agreement, and notes he has declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
The league's CBA restricts play to women but contains no specific language on gender identity or sex assigned at birth, and no transgender woman has played in the WNBA.
Cunningham said in an ESPN profile published in August that she opposes transgender women competing in women's sports.
_The Associated Press contributed to this report._