Enes Kanter Freedom has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Sky and the owners of Wintrust Arena, alleging that his First Amendment rights were violated when he was removed from a Sky home game last month and subsequently banned from attending WNBA games at the arena. Kanter Freedom's 15-page complaint was filed Thursday in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division. In addition to the Sky, the complaint names the city of Chicago and Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which owns and operates Wintrust Arena, as defendants.

Kanter Freedom was involved in a verbal altercation with Sky point guard Natasha Cloud late in the third quarter of an Aug. 23 game against the Indiana Fever. He was sitting courtside in a black T-shirt that read: "WOMAN noun. adult human female." When a timeout was called, Cloud walked toward Kanter Freedom and shouted at him. He was standing with his arms outstretched and took a few steps toward the court before security cut him off and directed him to leave.

Sky owner Michael Alter, speaking to reporters when Kanter Freedom's ban was announced last week, 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 LBGTQ+ rights.