Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, both former NBA players, have been ruled ineligible for the WNBA draft. This information comes from a source who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter. The reasons behind this decision have not been publicly disclosed.
Although Freedom and White have expressed their intent to join next year’s draft, the WNBA has not officially commented on their eligibility. The league is currently at the center of discussions about whether transgender women—individuals assigned male at birth who have transitioned to their gender identity—can participate. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement restricts the league to women but does not rigorously define gender identity or the sex assigned at birth.
Freedom and White, in announcing their draft intentions, have identified as women. Freedom is 6-foot-10 and weighs 250 pounds and has an 11-season NBA career. White played three NBA games.
Recently, a confrontation occurred involving Freedom during the Indiana-Chicago game. Freedom was present near the court wearing a T-shirt stating, “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” During the game, following a play by Natasha Cloud, she confronted Freedom. Security intervened as Freedom was near the court, and he was escorted out.
Freedom later shared his experience on social media, stating, “I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN!”
The discussion on transgender participation continues amid statements like those of Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who expressed her opposition to transgender women in female sports in a recent ESPN interview. This ongoing debate is influencing the conversation around the league’s policies.