The WNBA’s ongoing transgender athlete debate has taken another unexpected turn, with former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom declaring himself a prospect for the 2027 WNBA Draft. Following the news, analyst Rachel Annamarie DeMita expressed that she wasn’t a fan of what Freedom said, voicing her frustration and disbelief at the discourse dominating the league.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Instead of being about basketball, the conversation has increasingly centered on polarizing political debates surrounding the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“I saw a video of Enes Kanter saying that he’s declaring himself as a WNBA prospect… Like, I don’t know whether to laugh. I don’t know whether to cry, because like I’ve said in other videos, this league is anything but a basketball league,” DeMita said on the Courtside Club podcast.
“The storylines around this league are never about basketball… I don’t want to talk about politics. I don’t want to talk about drama and negativity. And that’s the thing that’s in your face.”
Enes Kanter Freedom, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound former NBA center, made the declaration in a video posted to his X account. According to him, he and his team carefully examined the WNBA’s eligibility criteria regarding self-identification and inclusion. And, based on those criteria, he sees himself as eligible to play in the WNBA.
“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required. Then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.”
The idea behind Freedom’s declaration draws from the controversy of the past few weeks, which Fever star Sophie Cunningham seemingly ignited with her stance against the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports. Cunningham’s position has since drawn strong reactions from within the league, with several major figures appearing to favor transgender inclusion.
Among them is Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who has publicly pushed back against Cunningham’s position. Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams has also expressed strong support for transgender inclusion, even stating her willingness to welcome a transgender athlete to the WNBA. And perhaps in an attempt to make a point or challenge the league’s position on the issue, Freedom has now decided to put himself forward as a potential WNBA prospect.
Freedom, in fact, claimed that he is not trying to mock or disrespect any community. Instead, he said he simply wants to ensure that the league’s progressive values and stated rules are applied “equally, consistently, and without exception.”
So far, the 34-year-old has not been the only former NBA player to show interest in entering the WNBA Draft. Fellow former NBA player Royce White has also declared his intention to enter the draft, even suggesting that he and he could team up.
A seemingly more genuine interest, however, has also come from 34-year-old French trans basketballer Julie Tétart, who stated that she would not say no if the WNBA offered her a contract after Fox Sports floated the idea to her. Tétart currently plays in France’s second-tier women’s league and has been quite dominant over there.
Whether Freedom and White are simply using the situation to challenge an ideology that they disagree with remains to be seen.