Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom is throwing down the gauntlet to the WNBA, declaring for the 2027 draft as the league faces an increasingly heated debate over transgender athletes competing in women’s basketball.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound former NBA star spent 11 seasons in the league and now appears ready to test whether the WNBA’s commitment to “inclusion” extends to him.
Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham has become the poster child for the debate after telling ESPN her thoughts on transgender women in women’s sports.
“After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I’m officially declaring myself a @WNBA prospect,” Freedom announced on social platform X. “If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.”
“My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion,” he added in the post. “Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027.”
“I know my presence on the court will stir up strong opinions. I am definitely not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or personal choices,” the athlete continued. “I’m simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone — the rules that represent the very values many WNBA players and coaches have publicly advocated for.”
Freedom noted that he and his team want to see the guidelines “applied equally, consistently, and without exception.”
Hours later, former NBA first-round pick and current Minnesota Republican Senate candidate Royce White told Fox News Digital he was making the same declaration.
White claimed he’d actually beaten Kanter Freedom to the idea, pointing to a since-posted X message from four days earlier stating, “I’m transgender. I’m a woman. I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for the purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I’ll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well.”
He followed it up with a fresh post making it clear he had no intention of backing down.
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association released a statement following Freedom’s announcement.
“We embrace justice equity, diversity, and inclusion. Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change,” the statement read.
“Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations,” the group added in the Instagram post. “But we will not be used as political pawns.”
Last month, Freedom told NewsNation that Caitlin Clark’s Fever teammates, and the WNBA more broadly, need to do more to protect the face of the league.