Former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not eligible to enter the WNBA draft after declaring themselves women in separate “publicity stunts” in early August, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports on Monday, Aug. 24.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The person said the league is not going to “give oxygen to efforts designed to mock the league or use this topic to demean or marginalize others.”
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Kanter Freedom and White inserted themselves into the conversation around trans athlete participation in women’s sports on Aug. 7, fanning flames that began intensifying when Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said young girls playing sports “shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
The WNBA collective bargaining agreement requires “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” The league does not have a gender inclusion policy that would outline the eligibility of transgender or intersex athletes.
There are no eligibility matters requiring action by the WNBA, the person with direct knowledge said, describing the gender declarations by Kanter Freedom and White as “manufactured controversy” and attempts “to sow division and get attention.”
The news comes one day after Kanter Freedom was escorted out of a game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena in Chicago after a verbal exchange with Sky guard Natasha Cloud.
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Kanter Freedom, the No. 3 pick by the Utah Jazz in 2011 NBA draft, was sitting courtside in a black T-shirt that said: “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” Cloud walked toward Kanter Freedom during a timeout and shouted at him. Kanter Freedom, standing with his arms outstretched, stepped onto the court and past photographers before security intervened.
“I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN!” Kanter Freedom wrote on social media after the incident. “Let that sink in, AMERICA!”
The WNBA has not announced plans to keep Kanter Freedom from attending future games.
Kanter Freedom, 34, had an 11-year career in the NBA − playing from 2011 to 2022. White, 35, was the No. 16 pick by the Houston Rockets in 2012 but played in three games during his career, all with the Sacramento Kings. The players added to the national discourse about transgender athlete participation in the WNBA on Aug. 7 when they declared they would identify as women and enter the 2027 WNBA draft.
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A transgender woman has never played in the WNBA, but the league has become a lightning rod for the topic after comments made by Cunningham were published in an ESPN story on July 21.
Legislation passed in 27 states barring transgender girls and women from participating in women’s sports is aimed at a small portion of the population — 1% of people aged 13 and over in the U.S. identify as transgender, according to a 2025 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA Law.
The Human Rights Campaign reported in 2023 that 19% of transgender youth nationwide were playing sports, including fewer than 1,300 who played sports in school.
Cloud stands with LGBTQIA+ community
Cloud has been a vocal advocate on many social issues since she was drafted in 2015. She didn’t speak at the Sky’s postgame media availability Sunday but addressed the transgender community via Threads that night.
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“To every trans kid/person, You are a part of MY community & tribe. You belong. You’re loved. You’re seen. You’re perfect as you are. & you will always be protected by me,” Cloud wrote.
The league is expected to continue to have thoughtful internal conversations surrounding the topic and will ignore attempts to mock the league and demean and marginalize others, the person said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom, Royce White not eligible to play in WNBA
