It’s one thing to hate everything someone stands for, but if you make ‘an example’ of someone, you’d better be standing on solid ground.
When ENES freedom wore a T-shirt saying ‘Woman: adult human female’, he was exerting free speech that was intended to bother people who disagreed with him. You’d think an arena filled with athletes who spend half their lives in someone else’s arena would be used to antagonistic messaging.
It’s built right into the culture.
But some people have no respect for the American Experiment, especially that super-annoying right that other people have to hold ideas you find absolutely heretical to your worldview. For instance, can you imagine that some people think that guys sports and women’s sports should be entirely separate things?
No, really, it’s true.
As we’ve covered elsewhere, Enes Kanter Freedom — who has a history of making of hard choices involving putting principles ahead of profit and popularity, even at great personal cost — has become an activist in the women’s sports are for women movement. The WNBA has been dancing around this question, with ‘inoffensively’ vague language in the CBA that refused to stipulate where they stand on dudes in a dress competing against a team of chicks. If they’re going to leave a loophole, people will exploit it. Enes is one of the male players testing their resolve with the upcoming drafts.
If you missed it, this was the entire premise of the ‘Ladyballers’ film.
Now, not only was Enes thrown out for wearing a T-shirt, but he has even been banned from watching any of the Chicago Sky games (that’s the name of their WNBA team, since most of our readers probably didn’t know that before Enes made headlines there).
He was ready for it.
And now, he’s escalating.
That escalation includes the phrase: ‘Preserve all records’.
Enes Kanter Freedom has sent a letter to WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert requesting answers to 5 questions after his ejection from the Fever vs Sky Game & ban from the arena:
1. Identify the policy, rule, directive, or instruction relied upon in treating certain spectators,
including me, differently when we express a viewpoint that appears unpopular with the
WNBA
2. Identify whether the decision to eject me was made or requested by WNBA personnel, Chicago Sky personnel, Wintrust Arena personnel, security personnel, or another individual or entity
3. Confirm whether Ms. Cloud’s conduct has been or will be reviewed under any League
policy governing player interactions with fans, including rules governing altercations that require player suspension, and state what accountability, if any, she, her team, and management will face
4. Provide a full refund of the cost of my courtside tickets
5. Preserve all materials relating to this incident, including relevant video footage, incident or security reports, communications concerning my attendance or removal, communications referring to my WNBA Draft announcement or public advocacy for women’s sports, and
any applicable policies or event-day directives.”
Freedom is giving them 5 business days to respond.
Game on.
