Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter called a lawsuit filed against his team by former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, a vocal opponent of transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports, “meritless and frivolous” while vowing Friday to fight the suit in court.

Freedom’s lawsuit, filed Thursday by attorneys from the America First Policy Institute in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges the Sky ejected him while he was “peacefully exercising” his right to free speech at an Aug. 23 game between the Sky and Indiana Fever.

Freedom sat courtside at the game wearing a T-shirt that read “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” In the third quarter, Sky guard Natasha Cloud approached him, and the two exchanged words. When Freedom stepped toward the court, security intervened and led him away before ejecting him from the building.

“Freedom’s claim that he was removed from Wintrust Arena due to his speech is false,” Alter said in a statement released Friday. “As his own complaint acknowledges, he wore the shirt in question for multiple hours without any contact with security. 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.

“Freedom was removed for his conduct, not his speech. We look forward to the truth prevailing in court.”

The Sky’s fan code of conduct states that the team and arena “reserves the right to eject any patron that poses a threat to themselves or other guests. This includes, but not limited to, profanity, racial or ethnic comments, intoxication, disorderly conduct, drug use, sexual harassment, or other intimidating actions directed at officials, players, coaches, spectators, or team representatives.”

The Sky banned Freedom indefinitely shortly after the Aug. 23 incident, though Alter later said the franchise might reconsider Freedom’s ban “if someday he’s able to demonstrate he’s capable of being at a game and conducting himself in compliance with our rules and not be a threat to people.”

Freedom recently attempted to declare for the 2027 WNBA draft in a protest against trans women competing in the league, claiming in an X post that his actions “stand for women and defend free speech.” The league confirmed he is not eligible to play in the league, stating, “There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others.”

In his lawsuit, Freedom is seeking a declaration that his First Amendment rights were violated, that his indefinite ban from Wintrust Arena be lifted and that his legal fees are covered, as well as “an award of nominal and compensatory damages.”

Cloud, who called Freedom “irrelevant” in her first media availability after the altercation, said there are bigger problems facing the WNBA and women’s sports than trans athletes.

“The men now that are like ‘Oh, we need to protect the WNBA,’ y’all were the same ones saying we shouldn’t be paid,” Cloud said at the time. “Y’all were the same ones saying we shouldn’t have been invested in, saying we’re a joke, the same ones that don’t respect Black women.

“So, if you’re going to protect women, that means all women. That includes Black women, trans women, and the list goes on.”