For weeks, the debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports has played out in front of the media as players, coaches, rallies outside arenas, and dueling reactions on social media fueled the fire.
On Friday, it took a stranger turn.
Two former NBA players, within hours of each other, publicly declared their intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, framing their eligibility in the league’s own language on self-identification and inclusion.
Ex-NBA Players Mock WNBA By Declaring For 2027 Draft
The chain of events goes back to Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who told ESPN she wants to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
Her stance drew rallies in her support outside Fever road games, saw Seattle Storm co-owner suspended, and coaxed public responses from multiple opposing coaches, including Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve, who wore a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt during a nationally televised game. That backdrop is what set up Friday’s news.
Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom said that he had reviewed the WNBA’s eligibility language and, based on the league’s own stated commitment to self-identification and inclusion, he qualifies for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
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.”