The WNBA has officially ruled that former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not eligible to enter the 2027 draft, effectively ending their short-lived attempt to join the women's professional basketball league.
Both men declared their intention to enter the draft earlier in August, claiming to identify as transgender women. The declarations sparked a firestorm of controversy and renewed debate around gender eligibility policies in professional women's sports. However, multiple league sources told the Associated Press and ESPN that the WNBA has firmly rejected the draft declarations, characterizing them as publicity stunts.
"The recent declarations of Freedom and White are simply publicity stunts," one league source told Front Office Sports. "The league is not going to give oxygen to efforts designed to mock the league or use this topic to demean and marginalize others." The WNBA added that it "will not allow outside pressure or manufactured controversy to dictate league processes."
The decision formalises what had been widely expected since the declarations were first made. No transgender woman has ever played in the WNBA, and the league stressed that no legitimate eligibility matter required immediate action. The WNBA has said it plans to address the broader topic "thoughtfully" alongside its primary stakeholders, including players, teams, and the players' union.
Freedom's attempt to insert himself into the WNBA narrative reached a flashpoint on Sunday, August 23, when he was ejected from Wintrust Arena in Chicago after a heated courtside confrontation with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud. Freedom, who had been seated along the baseline wearing a shirt bearing the dictionary definition of "woman," exchanged words with Cloud during the third quarter before being removed from the arena. He later posted on X: "It's always women hating on other women."
The WNBA's new collective bargaining agreement, ratified earlier this year, contains provisions in Article XIII that restrict eligibility to players who are women, a clause that league officials say applies directly to the situation at hand. While the league has not issued a formal public statement on the specifics of the ruling, the decision has been communicated privately to the relevant parties.
Freedom, a former first-round pick who spent eight seasons in the NBA before becoming a prominent political activist, responded to the New York Post's reporting by calling it "Fake News" and saying he had not heard from WNBA officials. White, who was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2012 but never played an NBA game, has not publicly commented on the ruling.
The episode has drawn sharp reactions across the sports world. Supporters of the decision argue it protects the integrity of women's professional sports, while critics contend the entire episode was manufactured to generate controversy at the expense of transgender athletes. The WNBA, which is enjoying record viewership and attendance in 2026, appears determined to move past the distraction and focus on the season at hand.
Sources
https://apnews.com/article/wnba-enes-kanter-freedom-royce-white-4b23db1f7817caa2a5de018fa7c94b86 https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/24/sport/former-nba-players-not-wnba-eligible https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2026/08/24/enes-kanter-wnba-draft-eligibility-royce-white/91446929007/
