“WOMAN, noun. Adult human female.” A single line on a T-Shirt was enough to stir up another WNBA controversy. Officials ejected Enes Kanter from the Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever game on August 23 after a heated exchange with Natasha Cloud. But the drama did not end there. Soon after, Fever star Sophie Cunningham texted Kanter with a simple question.

During The Big Weekend Show, fill-in host Riley Gaines pressed Enes Kanter about his exchange with the Fever star, prompting him to share what happened. “So, yes, I did text her after the game, and she even asked me, like, ‘What happened?’ I simply said, I just got up and opened my arms in the air and said, ‘I’m here to protect my friends,'” Kanter shared.

The exchange was brief in what Kanter chose to reveal publicly, and he did not disclose the full conversation or say who initiated the texting. What he did make clear, however, was where he stood with Cunningham. He turned his focus toward the Fever guard and once again spoke highly of her.

“I think one thing about her, I think she’s inspiring not only the people in WNBA, but the girls from all over the world. She’s standing for the truth, and then she’s standing for things that are, even if it means sacrifice and everything,” Enes Kanter stated. “So I think she’s an idol now, and she’s an American hero. I’m just really happy that finally someone from the WNBA just got up and said, you know what? Enough is enough. We have to stand for American values.”

This was not the first time Kanter had used those words for Cunningham. Before the August 23 game, he had already publicly called her an “American hero” during an appearance on Fox News’ My View with Lara Trump. He said people from outside the United States were even messaging him and asking him to say hello to Cunningham if he ever saw her.

Kanter later went further, calling Cunningham “a national treasure and an American hero,” saying she “must be protected at all costs,” and describing her as a friend. “I’m just really proud of her,” he said, while praising her for continuing to speak out despite the backlash.

That support also helps explain why Kanter was sitting courtside at the Fever-Sky game in the first place. He later said he attended specifically to support Cunningham, describing his purpose as being there to “support my friend and protect women.” According to Kanter, the confrontation with Cloud came after he celebrated one of Cunningham’s three-pointers.

Cunningham had become central to the debate after her ESPN remarks about transgender athletes in women’s sports back in July. She faced backlash and later explained her position.

“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” she said. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

Kanter subsequently turned that same debate into a direct challenge to the WNBA. He and former NBA player Royce White announced that they intended to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, arguing that the league’s eligibility language did not clearly define who qualifies as a woman. The WNBA later determined that neither former NBA player was eligible for the draft.

Kanter’s proposed solution has been to add “biological” before “women” in the league’s eligibility language. His argument is that the WNBA should explicitly establish what it means by “woman” rather than leave the term undefined. The league, however, has not adopted that proposed wording.

That distinction matters because Cunningham has never publicly been presented as a co-organizer of Kanter’s WNBA campaign. His actions are his own, even though he has repeatedly said that he supports the position she took and has used the same debate to challenge the league.

Then came August 23. Kanter arrived at Wintrust Arena wearing the now-famous “WOMAN, noun. Adult human female” shirt. Late in the third quarter, Cloud approached him after a Sky possession. According to the Associated Press account, Cloud yelled and pointed toward Kanter, who stood up, extended his arms and stepped onto the court before security intervened. He was subsequently escorted from the arena.

Kanter has described the moment differently in his lawsuit, alleging that Cloud initiated a profanity-laced confrontation and that her actions were motivated by his shirt and his public position on women’s sports. The Sky has disputed his characterization of the incident.

That disagreement has now moved beyond the arena.

Enes Kanter files lawsuit

The 34-year-old former No. 3 pick of the NBA filed a 15-page federal complaint on September 3 in the Northern District of Illinois, naming Chicago Women’s Basketball Operations, LLC, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the City of Chicago as defendants.

Kanter claims the August 23 incident violated his First Amendment rights and argues that his ejection and subsequent ban from Wintrust Arena amounted to an infringement on his right to free speech. He is seeking damages and wants the ban preventing him from attending games at the arena removed.

In a statement accompanying the lawsuit, Kanter wrote, “My T-shirt did what the whole WNBA apparently couldn’t: define a woman. No threats. No violence. Just biology. And somehow, that required a security escort. You don’t have to agree with my speech but you don’t get to silence me for it. I will not be intimidated.”

He added, “I will not be silenced. I will continue to stand for women and defend free speech.”

But the Sky’s position is that the shirt itself was not why Kanter was removed. Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter called the lawsuit “meritless and frivolous,” arguing that Kanter was allowed to wear the shirt for hours without security intervention.

“Freedom’s claim that he was removed from Wintrust Arena due to his speech is false,” Alter stated. “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.”

That leaves two competing accounts at the heart of the case: Kanter argues that his viewpoint and the message on his shirt led to his removal, while the Sky says security acted only after his conduct crossed the arena’s rules. The lawsuit will now have to sort out that dispute rather than simply determine whether the shirt itself was controversial.

At present, Kanter’s campaign has drawn sharply different reactions. Critics have characterized his WNBA draft declaration and continued involvement in the controversy as a publicity stunt, while supporters see his actions as a deliberate challenge to rules they believe leave women’s sports insufficiently protected.

What makes Cunningham central to Kanter’s latest comments, though, is that his support for her predates the confrontation. He had already called her an “American hero,” described her as a friend and said he was proud of her for speaking out. He then attended her team’s game specifically to support her, was ejected after the confrontation with Cloud, and later revealed that Cunningham herself reached out to ask what had happened.