lawsuit unsealed – Unredacted court filings in a lawsuit by minority investor Steven Rogers against Sky principal owner Michael Alter detail a fight over whether Alter was allowed to convert about $29 million in longtime loans into equity. The dispute now also turns on investor
By the time unredacted court filings were unsealed, the dispute over Michael Alter had already been narrowed to a single, pivotal move: his decision to convert his longstanding loans to the Sky into equity.
The updated paperwork in the case—unredacted versions of Steven Rogers’ complaint and Alter’s motion to dismiss—has brought sharper focus to allegations that the conversion unfairly shifted value away from minority investors to Alter himself. It also lays out Alter’s response. arguing the conversion was permissible. beneficial to all investors. and authorized under the Sky’s operating agreement.
Rogers. a minority investor. sued Alter in January. accusing him of breaching the team’s operating agreement and violating fiduciary duties owed to investors. Alter responded with a motion to dismiss filed in April. contending that Alter’s actions were permissible and that Rogers does not have standing to bring some claims.
The filings previously were heavily redacted, leaving the core of the dispute unclear. With the unsealing, the case now centers on how and whether Alter’s loans should have been treated when the Sky’s ownership structure changed.
Alter’s loan conversion sits at the heart of the lawsuit. Court documents say Alter loaned the team about $29 million over the course of its history to keep it afloat. Rogers alleges the conversion unfairly transferred value from minority investors to Alter. Alter’s defense says the opposite: converting the loans improved the balance sheet and helped the Sky raise capital in 2023.
The sides also dispute whether the operating agreement allowed the conversion. Rogers points to one section of the agreement to argue it was prohibited. Alter’s motion to dismiss cites another section to argue it was expressly authorized.
Even the price of the conversion is contested. Alter had loaned the team roughly $29 million on terms that court documents describe as lenient: a 1% interest rate and no specific maturity date requiring repayment by a set deadline. In 2022, Alter brought in new investors at an $85 million valuation. The conversion. according to the filings. occurred at face value and at the same valuation as the new investors—so the roughly $29 million of principal and interest became an additional 34% ownership stake.
Rogers argues that was unfair because, in his view, the market value of the loans was far lower than $29 million. He contends a loan with no guaranteed repayment date has limited value and should have converted into a much smaller stake.
Alter’s defense points to Delaware law, arguing that loans without a maturity date are repayable on demand. Under that framing, the defense says the loan—repayable at the lender’s discretion—may be worth face value.
The dispute may sound technical, but the filings fold the argument back into something more emotionally charged for minority owners: what happens when the league is no longer what it used to be.
What Alter contributed during years when the Sky could have failed is now tied to what that contribution is worth in a moment when the WNBA is booming. The unsealed complaint presses that question by alleging a pattern of sloppy management—especially around documentation and ownership accounting.
Rogers alleges Alter failed to properly document the loans, track capital contributions, and track investors’ ownership percentages. He points to a 2022 notice that his stake was diluted from 2% to 0.08%. calling that number “wildly inaccurate.” Alter eventually acknowledged that figure was wrong and revised Rogers’ stake to 0.867%. according to the complaint.
There is also an additional allegation in the complaint tied to a 2010 agreement with the WNBA. Rogers says the WNBA loaned the Sky $9 million for the team’s initial license fee. Rogers alleges Alter “wanted to get paid ahead of the WNBA. ” and that Alter represented to the league that he had loaned funds to the Sky at 12% interest with a 2014 maturity date.
The WNBA did not respond to a request for comment. Alter’s motion to dismiss does not directly address those specific allegations.
Instead, it heavily disputes the characterization of mismanagement and argues Rogers’ complaint is a vindictive attempt to smear Alter.
To support that position, Alter’s attorneys filed signed declarations of support from 20 investors. Alter’s attorneys describe the declarations as “nearly all” of the investors in Chicago Women’s Basketball Investments. In the filings, the investors say they view the lawsuit as baseless and harmful. They also say Alter ran the business professionally and that investors were aware he was converting his loans into equity.
One of the signees. Linda Friedman. spoke to the Sun-Times in February. defending Alter and saying she was angry about the lawsuit and considered it revisionist history. Friedman said she approved of the dilution of her shares after the conversion and believed communication around her stake had been regular and transparent. She also said she believed Alter’s intent in raising capital was to benefit the league as a whole—to boost the Sky’s valuation. lift all teams. and increase the buy-in price for expansion franchises.
Alter’s attorney, Robert Chapman, called the complaint meritless and said neither Alter nor the Sky would comment further. After the court ordered the documents unsealed. Chapman told the Sun-Times that the decision “does not concern us or affect the merits of this case. ” adding that Alter’s side remains confident “the outcome will vindicate the propriety of our clients’ actions.”.
The next steps in the case now depend on a dispute over procedure. Rogers’ counsel filed a motion asking the court to delay briefing on Alter’s motion to dismiss and allow discovery into the 20 investor declarations filed in support of Alter. Rogers’ attorneys want to test investor statements through depositions, arguing the declarations are cookie-cutter.
Rogers’ motion states that the declarations represent “some but not all” of the minority investors, and Rogers’ counsel declined to say how many minority investors there are in total.
Alter’s attorneys oppose the request. They argue the court should first rule on the legal sufficiency of Rogers’ complaint. saying those issues do not require discovery. They also argue Rogers has not identified the specific facts he expects to uncover and describe the request as an improper fishing expedition.
For Sky fans who have endured another difficult season, the lawsuit’s legal details may not be the first thing on their minds. But the unsealed filings reinforce a broader issue that has started to matter more as the WNBA grows: whether the Sky’s ownership group is equipped to keep up.
The league is expanding. Deep-pocketed franchises in Golden State, Portland and Toronto are already here, and three more teams are on the way starting in 2028.
At the center of day-to-day pressure is the Sky’s long-awaited practice facility in Bedford Park. Ownership first said it would be completed by the end of 2025. then by the start of the 2026 season. and later “late spring/early summer.” The Sky are now within a month of hosting All-Star weekend and said they would host events at the new facility. but they still have not announced an opening date or explained the latest delay.
The communication gap has been a sore spot. Portland, the Sky’s opponent Wednesday night, announced in late May that its practice facility would open Aug. 22.
The Sky say the facility is expected to open at some point. and when it does. it will be a meaningful milestone for a franchise that has struggled to match expectations. But the shifting timeline feeds into the same question raised by the lawsuit over ownership and fairness: as expectations for WNBA ownership rise. is the Sky’s group evolving fast enough—on the court. in the boardroom. and in the buildout meant to serve the team’s next era?.
Sky Michael Alter Steven Rogers WNBA lawsuit unsealed complaint motion to dismiss operating agreement fiduciary duty loan conversion equity Delaware law Bedford Park practice facility All-Star weekend