The WNBA’s Chicago Sky is taking Enes Kanter Freedom to task while once again avoiding the actual issue on everyone’s mind.
Freedom wore a T-shirt that read “WOMAN noun. adult human female” to the Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever game on Sunday, causing a stir that seemingly agitated one of the Sky players.
‘Most importantly, he took a step towards the court.’
After a whistle in the third quarter, 34-year-old point guard Natasha Cloud began yelling at Freedom, who stood up and raised his arms in the air while taking a step toward the court.
Cloud was irate as teammates ushered her away from the area, while Freedom was surrounded by security and subsequently ejected from the building.
According to Sky principal owner Michael Alter, Freedom’s presence near the court wasn’t just a form of protest; it was tantamount to a threat.
“[Kanter Freedom] has demonstrated to us unequivocally that he has the potential to be a threat,” Alter said while speaking to local Chicago media.
“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.”
Alter continued, saying the team has decided to ban him from Wintrust Arena in Chicago indefinitely.
“So that is the basis for which we will not permit him into the building until such time as he can prove otherwise.”
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
The 6′-10″ former NBA player had told Fox News that the he had exchanged text messages with Chicago general manager Jeff Pagliocca before the game to give him a heads-up that he planned to attend.
Freedom said he told the GM he had no plans to disrupt the event and received the reply, “Enjoy the game.”
Alter called Freedom’s framing of that exchange into question, ESPN reported, telling media members that Pagliocca only said, “Appreciate the text,” and did not tell Freedom to enjoy the game or otherwise insinuate that the team was happy to have him.
“It was pretty clear to us that his purpose of coming here was trying to be provocative and just see how much attention he could get and stir up,” Alter said.
Alter went on to repeatedly suggest that Freedom is a potential security threat that was quelled by security.
“That all changed when he made a decision to stand up from his seat again, on the court, put his arms out, point a finger at the player on the court, Natasha Cloud,” the owner said. “And most importantly, he took a step towards the court. That changed everything, and he went from being a fan … to being a potential threat. And that is why the security acted as quickly and swiftly, very smoothly, as they did.”
RELATED: Former congressman sends warning to WNBA over blocking male player: Get ready for court
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Alter, a commercial real estate developer, rejected Freedom’s recent assertion that because he “did not step over the baseline,” he was not breaking any rules.
As if “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.”
The owner further boasted that security “didn’t wait” to see how far Freedom got.
Freedom has not made public comment since the ban was announced on Tuesday night.
Freedom and the Chicago Sky did not respond to Blaze News’ request for comment.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Wnba, Basketball, Enes kanter freedom, Chicago sky, Sports
