West Sixth bar Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Icehouse is taking over the sprawling East Austin bar and restaurant space formerly belonging to beer garden/bakery mini-chain Easy Tiger and French restaurant LaV. WTF Sporting Club will be opening in the East Cesar Chavez neighborhood at 1501 East Seventh Street on Friday, September 6.

Per the name, WTF Sporting Club is a sports bar with food and drinks. The former is centered on casual American and New American dishes; think bao flights, pizza on flatbreads, boneless chicken wings, smash burgers, and desserts. The latter includes the Pebble Beach Paloma, a bourbon-peach smash, the Magnolia Mai Tai, and the Derby Mule. There are also beers, wines, and nonalcoholic drinks.

There will be many televisions that will air various games throughout the seasons. There are high-definition televisions and a huge projection screen in the indoor space, with an LED screen outside. The large outdoor area will include bookable private cabanas, as well as a shipping container outfitted as a bar, and a deck for live entertainment. Expect events like DJ sets and podcast recordings.

WTF Sporting Club falls under the Gold Fox Hospitality umbrella, run by co-owners Habib Bakshi, Shabawn Espili, and Kahran Espili, with general manager Ryan Keas. They opened the original Whiskey Tango Foxtrot bar in 2018, taking over a former Gatti’s Pizza space.

Before WTF Sporting Club, the East Seventh address was a location of the Austin-based beer garden/restaurant/bakery mini-chain Easy Tiger. It opened in early 2021, but in early 2024, it announced it would close in April 2024. Co-founder and head baker David Norman explained it had to shutter because of weather issues and higher cost of operations. Easy still has its Linc and South Lamar locations.

And before Easy Tiger, the East Austin space was 7co, an event space run by Austin restaurant group Parkside Projects. And then, before that, the entire outdoor-indoor area was originally built out for the fine-dining French restaurant LaV, which ran from 2014 through late 2026.

WTF Sporting Club’s hours will be from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday and then from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday

A UT Austin student is suing the university and two of its leaders, claiming they violated his First Amendment rights when he was arrested while protesting Israel’s war in Gaza.

Ammer Qaddumi, now a senior at UT, also claims that the university, President Jay Hartzell and Provost Sharon Wood wrongfully retaliated against him by threatening him with suspension. An attorney filed the lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday, which was first reported by KXAN.

“These were kids who were walking down the sidewalk chanting, ‘Hey, hey, ho, ho, the occupation’s got to go,” Brian McGiverin, Qaddumi’s lawyer, said. “There’s nothing dangerous or scary or frankly remarkable about it as far as First Amendment activity goes.” McGiverin says he believes this is the first lawsuit filed by a student over the university’s response to the protests.

Qaddumi is asking for the university to pay for damages and to stop any further disciplinary action against him.

KUT reached out to a UT Austin spokesperson for comment. “[T]he University’s response to the lawsuit and claims will be set out in our court filings,” university spokesperson Mike Rosen wrote in an email. “Until then, no further comment.”

The lawsuit is the latest in the fallout from two pro-Palestinian protests held on UT Austin’s campus in April. University officials called on state law enforcement to intervene and police arrested more than 130 participants — many of them for criminal trespass. County officials later dropped most of these charges.

Since then, students arrested at the protests have faced discipline, including probation and suspension. Faculty have criticized the university’s response to the protests, including in a recent report where a university committee alleged administrators, not protesters, violated institutional rules.

Qaddumi and his lawyer say the university first violated his rights when they told organizers they could not hold the planned demonstration. His lawsuit alleges the university stifled students’ speech before they had a chance to express themselves.

Despite the university’s directive, dozens of protesters gathered the next day on the South Mall. As police arrived and began to encircle the group, they asked for a mediator and Qaddumi volunteered, according to the lawsuit.

Both the university and Qaddumi’s lawyer say the student told demonstrators to follow the order to disperse. University officials say he then rejoined protesters. Police arrested him just before 1 p.m. His lawyer says by restraining Qaddumi, the university and its officials violated his right to free speech.

Several months after the protests, UT sent notice to Qaddumi and other students that they faced discipline for allegedly violating university rules.

According to documents filed as evidence in his lawsuit, the university has threatened to suspend Qaddumi for three semesters, during which he would not be able to enroll in classes or enter campus without written approval.

He is protesting this decision and has a hearing Friday, according to his lawyer.

The university has defended its response to the April protests by citing several rules officials say protesters broke, including failing to disperse when told by police and administrators to do so. The university has also said protesters brought a variety of weapons to campus, but county prosecutors refuted that claim. In May, one man from San Marcos was charged with illegally carrying a gun during the protests.

AUSTIN — A progressive business group has sued to strike a 2021 Texas law that banned the state from doing business with companies the state has deemed hostile to the fossil fuel industry.

The American Sustainable Business Council filed suit against Attorney General Ken Paxton and Comptroller Glenn Hegar, alleging that Senate Bill 13 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Paxton and Hegar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The so-called anti-ESG law (which stands for environmental, social and governance) has led Texas to divest investments from 16 financial companies, including investment giant BlackRock, Inc. and UBS Group AG. Neither firm is a plaintiff in the suit.

“SB 13 is not just a misguided policy; it is an unconstitutional attack that stifles free speech and punishes businesses for prioritizing responsible investments,” said David Levine, president and co-founder of the American Sustainable Business Council. “By challenging SB 13, we aim to protect the rights of all businesses to operate freely and responsibly.”

The law came about in response to several investment companies adopting investment philosophies that prioritized environmental issues, social issues and corporate governance. BlackRock, which controls about $10.5 trillion in assets, was made a centerpiece of the political uproar in Texas after its CEO announced that it was turning away from oil and gas investments.

BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink has signaled a willingness to make amends with Texas lawmakers by cohosting a natural gas investment symposium alongside Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick earlier this year in Houston. However, the company remains banned from doing business with Texas, according to the comptroller’s office.

The American Sustainable Business Council includes members Etho Capital and Sphere – investment firms that manage index funds focused on climate sustainability. The comptroller’s office has blacklisted “flagship investment funds” from each company, according to the lawsuit.

Since the law’s implementation, state funds such as the Permanent School Fund and Teacher Retirement System of Texas have unloaded billions of dollars in assets once managed by BlackRock and other companies banned from Texas. That has cost taxpayers about $1.5 billion in unrealized financial gains and increased interest payments on government loans, according to economists at the Perryman Group.

Democracy Forward, a progressive legal advocacy organization, is representing plaintiffs.

“Governor [Greg] Abbott should have never signed SB 13. The law is bad for Texas businesses and taxpayers and violates the U.S. Constitution,” said Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward’s CEO. “It is past time for Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Patrick and their associates in the Texas legislature to prioritize the wellbeing of people in the state. Texas businesses, taxpayers, workers, and public employees will be better off if SB 13 is struck down.”