Chicago Sky: Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected after becoming ‘potential threat’

The Chicago Sky were at the epicenter of a national incident when Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday’s game.

Kanter Freedom then spoke to FOX News’ Laura Ingraham on "The Ingraham Angle" to detail that side of the story.

The Sky shared its side on Tuesday, as the team acknowledged parts of the story Kanter Freedom shared were "misleading information."

Chicago Sky majority owner Michael Alter spoke to local Chicago media Tuesday about the incident on Sunday to clarify what the team knew before the incident occurred in the fourth quarter.

The backstory:

Kanter Freedom said he attended purely out of love for basketball and to support Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who has spoken out against transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. Kanter Freedom wore a t-shirt that read "Woman (noun): Adult Human Female."

Kanter Freedom was eventually ejected from Sunday’s game after getting into a verbal altercation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud.

Kanter Freedom said Cloud was provocative first, instigating from the court.

"She came back and yelled at me, '(Cunningham) is not going to sleep with you,’" Kanter Freedom said on "The Ingraham Angle."

Alter said he spoke to attendees around where Kanter Freedom was sitting. Those attendees said Cloud and Kanter Freedom began to chirp in back and forth in the third quarter.

It reached a peak in the fourth when Kanter Freedom began to walk towards the court and towards Cloud. Kanter Freedom was ejected after this and escorted out of Wintrust Arena.

"That changed everything," Alter said. At that point, Kanter Freedom went from being a fan at the game to being a potential threat.

Alter noted that the security people’s job is not to wait until a threat intensifies, and they were not going to wait to see how far he was going to walk. Once Kanter Freedom took a step forward, that was deemed as a potential threat.

He said there were five different security authorities, including the game officials, that all agreed there was no alternative but to throw him out.

From the beginning, Alter said it was evident early on that Kanter Freedom wasn’t at Sunday’s game as a fan.

"It was pretty clear to us that his purpose of coming here was being provocative," Alter said. "We have no record of him buying a ticket … He did not buy a ticket in his name."

Alter said he had one regret, and that was not telling the players before hand that Kanter Freedom was going to be at the game.

The Sky are not allowing Kanter Freedom back into Wintrust Arena until he can prove he can abide by the rules and won’t be a perceived as a potential threat.

This goes for all fans involved, from season-ticket holders, to transgender fans and everyone who chooses to watch the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena.

"We want anyone to come to Sky games and be safe," Alter said. "We want everyone, regardless of who they are, to feel that way."

The other side:

Kanter Freedom told FOX News that Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca endorsed his attendance at Sunday’s game.

"The GM of the Chicago Sky was my trainer, and I trained with him," Kanter Freedom said. "Before the game, we texted him and said, 'Hey, we're going to come to the game. We want peace. We don't want nothing controversial. We just want to come, sit down, and watch the game and enjoy the game."

The Sky vehemently opposed that point of view.

According to the Sky, Pagliocca did not invite Kanter to the game. Pagliocca did not speak with him at or after the game. 

Alter said the team found out Sunday at 2:30 p.m. that Kanter Freedom was coming to the game. Kanter Freedom’s manager, not Kanter Freedom personally, sent a text message to Pagliocca. Alter said Pagliocca replied to that text from Kanter Freedom's manager saying: "Appreciate the text."

"All that is completely false," Alter said. "Jeff was shocked and surprised." 

Alter noted that Pagliocca trained with Kanter Freedom until 2018-2019. The last time the two spoke was about three or four years ago. Kanter Freedom played 11 seasons in the NBA, and last played in the 2021-2022 season.

 The Sky told FOX Chicago that Pagliocca said he does not endorse Kanter.

Sky