Enes Kanter Freedom's legal representatives file FOIA request related to Chicago Sky ejection incident
The America First Policy Institute has opened a review of the circumstances surrounding Enes Kanter Freedom’s removal from a Chicago Sky Women’s National Basketball Association game and his subsequent prohibition from the Wintrust Arena. On Friday, the institute submitted a six‑page request under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the government body that owns the arena, asking for records that could clarify who controls access, security and event operations at the publicly owned venue.
Leigh Ann O’Neill, the institute’s chief legal affairs officer, said the inquiry was launched because “Enes Freedom exercised his constitutional right as an American when he attended the WNBA game in Chicago,” and added that the group “is seeking critical documents that will assist in our efforts to ensure that public entities are held accountable when American’s constitutional rights are trampled.”
Freedom’s presence at Sunday’s Sky‑Indiana Fever contest attracted attention after he wore a shirt that read “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” During a third‑quarter timeout, Sky guard Natasha Cloud approached his courtside seat, sparking a verbal exchange. Security personnel intervened, and after Freedom moved toward the court, he was escorted out of the arena and barred from returning.
The records request is intended to uncover whether the actions of the Sky, the arena’s staff or any other parties can be linked to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, a municipal corporation created by the Illinois General Assembly whose board members are appointed by the governor and Chicago’s mayor. The authority operates the 10,000‑seat Wintrust Arena through a public‑private partnership with DePaul University.
Among the documents sought are agreements between the authority, arena operator Oak View Group, the Chicago Sky and the WNBA; security policies; law‑enforcement memoranda; records identifying the individual who authorized Freedom’s removal and ban; and any paperwork showing the arena’s receipt of federal funding. AFPI also asked the authority to preserve any relevant emails, text messages or internal communications and to release them incrementally as they are produced. No legal action has been filed to date.
OutKick has reached out to the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the Chicago Sky for comment.