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The America First Policy Institute initiated an investigation into activist Enes Kanter Freedom’s removal from a Chicago Sky contest and his subsequent prohibition from attending events at Wintrust Arena. On Friday, AFPI submitted a six-page records request with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the public entity responsible for managing the facility, under Illinois Freedom of Information Act provisions.
Leigh Ann O’Neill, AFPI’s chief legal affairs officer, stated that Freedom exercised fundamental constitutional protections by attending the women’s professional basketball game. The organization is demanding access to documents to verify whether public institutions violated citizens’ constitutional protections, O’Neill said in a prepared statement.
Freedom attended Sunday’s Sky-Fever matchup wearing apparel stating “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” During a third-quarter stoppage, Sky guard Natasha Cloud visited Freedom’s courtside position, sparking a verbal confrontation. Arena security personnel removed Freedom after he moved toward the playing surface.
AFPI’s documentation request seeks to identify decision-makers regarding facility access, security operations and event administration at the publicly financed venue. The organization requested operational agreements between MPEA, operator Oak View Group, the Sky franchise and the league, plus security protocols and records showing who authorized the removal and ban.
The MPEA, a municipal corporation established by the Illinois General Assembly with board members appointed by the state governor and Chicago mayor, operates the 10,000-capacity arena through a partnership with DePaul University. The records request does not presume constitutional violations but rather seeks documentation to establish whether Sky or arena personnel acted under public authority.
AFPI requested that MPEA preserve relevant communications while producing records progressively. No litigation has been initiated at this time.
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