The WNBA has made it crystal clear: former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not eligible to play in the league. This definitive stance comes after both players declared themselves for the 2027 WNBA Draft, claiming to identify as women, which directly challenges the league’s eligibility guidelines and thrusts them right into the center of the ongoing discussion around transgender athletes.
Sunday Night Chaos in Chicago
Kanter Freedom wasn’t just talking about it, he was *at* a WNBA game in Chicago on Sunday, August 24, 2026, making his presence felt. He showed up at Wintrust Arena sporting a T-shirt that read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” Things got heated in the third quarter when he was ejected from the arena after a verbal altercation with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud. TV cameras caught Cloud yelling and approaching Kanter Freedom, who stepped toward the court, before her teammates held her back and he was escorted down the tunnel. Cloud reportedly spoke with team and league security after the game, but she didn’t talk to reporters.
Both individuals took to social media right after the incident. Cloud posted on Threads, saying, “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.” Kanter Freedom hit X, writing, “I just got kicked out of a WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!”
The League’s Blunt Response and CBA Rules
A league source didn’t mince words, calling Kanter Freedom and White’s draft declarations “simply publicity stunts” that the league “won’t give oxygen to.” This whole discussion around transgender women participating in women’s sports really flared up after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments in an ESPN profile released before the All-Star break.
The league is staying firm on this. After a previously scheduled anti-hate task force meeting on August 12 that included a discussion on transgender athletes, a WNBA spokesperson stated the league denounces “bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or to marginalize others.” The WNBA Players Association had already released a statement earlier that week, declaring they “will not be used as political pawns.”
The rules are pretty clear, at least on the surface. The new collective bargaining agreement, signed back in March, states unequivocally that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” What it doesn’t do is define “women” any further. While the NCAA changed its policy in February 2015 to only allow those assigned female at birth to compete in women’s sports, and other organizations use genetic screening or blood testosterone limits, a WNBA source noted there are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the league, and no known transgender women coming up through the NCAA ranks to make this an immediate issue. No transgender woman has played in the league. The source emphasized the league will not let outside pressure dictate its decisions and plans to continue discussions with various stakeholders and different groups moving forward.
This isn’t just a one-off. Both Kanter Freedom and Cloud are 11-year veterans and known for being outwardly vocal on political issues, even having a heated social media spat in 2023. Cloud and Cunningham even played together in Phoenix in 2024. The WNBA is holding its ground, and it’s clear this conversation, despite the league’s firm stance, is far from over.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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