Sophie Cunningham’s opposition to transgender athletes in women’s sports has attracted significant backlash from the basketball community and even from voices outside the sport. However, among those who have most vocally supported her is former Boston Celtics star Enes Kanter Freedom. In fact, on August 7, Freedom started pursuing a rather unconventional route in raising his voice to support the Fever guard’s perspective on social media.

“After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I’m officially declaring myself a @WNBA prospect… If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” Kanter wrote on X.

Now weeks later, appearing on Fox Sports’ My View With Lara Trump on Friday, Freedom directly expressed his support, describing Cunningham as an “American hero” and praising her willingness to hold her ground under sustained pressure. 

“First of all, I want to say she’s an American hero. Everywhere she goes, I see now a lot of people are coming out and actually defending her. But obviously, if you’re standing up for something that you believe in, you’re gonna get hate all the time.”

“But I think she’s inspiring not only the players in the WNBA, but girls from all over the world, not only in America, because I get so many messages, and they’re saying that from all over the world — ‘Hey, if you ever see Sophie, can you please say hi to her?'”

Cunningham ignited a nationwide debate when she publicly stated that women’s sports and locker rooms need to be protected, asserting that biological men should not compete against biological women. She has not retreated from that position and has even doubled down, explicitly stating that she would not backtrack on her statement a day after her now-controversial ESPN profile went live on July 21.

“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense. And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said,” Cunningham said on July 22 ahead of the Fever game with Connecticut.

The issue that began with Sophie Cunningham’s ESPN profile on July 21 has now stretched on for weeks with no clear resolution in sight. Meanwhile, there has been no shortage of backlash from fans and experts. While Cunningham fans have organized rallies during at least four separate Fever games to show their support, counter-protesters have shown up at every rally across states including Seattle, Minnesota, and Texas.

Even personalities associated with other sports, like Megan Rapinoe, have pushed back against Cunningham’s views. Meanwhile, many WNBA players like DiJonai Carrington have also supported the pushback against Cunningham’s views.

“I don’t know Sophie. So I can only project what I see about her beliefs based on her actions. And seeing a picture of her with Riley Gaines after the game told me everything I need to know about what’s happening. Riley Gaines has made it her life’s mission to exclude trans people from public life…”

Meanwhile, Enes Kanter Freedom has followed in Cunningham’s footsteps and doubled down on his stance.

Enes Kanter Freedom has refused to back down despite the WNBA denouncing his argument

Freedom chose to use the WNBA’s own open-ended eligibility language to declare himself a prospect for the 2027 WNBA Draft. Besides him, former NBA first-round draft pick Royce White has also followed the same path, declaring for the WNBA Draft.

The WNBA has, however, responded firmly. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the Anti-Hate Task Force have formally characterised Enes Kanter Freedom and White’s draft declarations as “bad-faith efforts” and have insisted that there are currently no real-world transgender eligibility issues actively affecting league competition.

“We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league. There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others,” the WNBA said in the statement on August 12.

Following the league’s announcement, Enes Kanter Freedom not only said he won’t back down, but barely a week later, on August 18, explained that he had spoken to others who had shown a similar interest in declaring eligibility.

“Now, listen to me very carefully. So far, I’ve spoken with: 2 Former NBA players, 3 G-League players, 3 European players. They have all said that if the WNBA doesn’t change the rules, they’re ready to join the movement and are considering coming out as women and putting their names in the 2027 WNBA Draft.”

And now, with Freedom directly announcing his support for Sophie Cunningham, and fans still showing up to support the guard during Fever’s road games, while counter-protesters demonstrate right beside them, this debate looks far from over.