In mid-August, a tweet from Enes Kanter Freedom went viral. The former NBA player wrote on X that dunking on Angel Reese would be his priority once he gets selected No. 1 in the 2027 WNBA draft. Months later, he sat down with Sage Steele and teased another uncomfortable scenario, taking the controversy inside the ladies’ changing room.
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“People are focusing on me playing in the league. If that ever happens, I am allowed to take a shower in the same room with them,” he said on The Sage Steele Show. “I am allowed to use the same bathroom as them, and I am allowed to change in the same locker room with them. So, think about how uncomfortable it is: a room with naked women taking showers, and I’m walking in.
“They’re not going to create another man’s locker room because, according to their rules, I’m a woman now. So, I’m going to be able to take a shower in the same room with them.”
The WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play” in the league. However, it doesn’t define the biological and other gender guidelines of what the league considered a woman to be.
In August, Kanter announced that he was declaring himself in the draft pool for the upcoming draft. He publicly claimed that he identified as a woman, and hence he was eligible to play in the league. Another former NBA player, Royce White, also declared for the draft. Kanter later said that he had the support of former NBA players and G League players who were ready to join the movement and declare for the 2027 draft.
However, the league strongly denounced Kanter and White’s actions as “bad faith efforts” targeted to “demean and marginalize others.”
The seed of the ongoing controversy was sown in July. In an ESPN interview on July 21, Sophie Cunningham’s said that “young girls” shouldn’t have to play against “biological men.” Since then, the domain of discussion has been dominated by Kanter, who has taken it upon himself to make amendments to the league’s CBA, forcing the league to define what a woman is.
This year has been historic for the WNBA. The league recorded over 90 million unique viewers. Compared to last season’s 19, this season’s 51 telecasts recorded 1 million more viewers. From viewership to attendance in arenas, the league had everything to gain, and so did the players.
Suddenly, the game that was finally giving these WNBA stars their due recognition has turned into a battleground for a gender’s definition. Kanter has now warned the league that if the issue is not resolved, things will only get worse.
“So before it gets very ugly, I just hope that whoever the new commissioner is just makes the right decision from day one, and I will disappear. I’ll walk to the sunset. You’ll never hear from me ever again,” Kanter further added.
The controversy that became the league’s biggest headache this season suddenly went dormant after the FIBA World Cup break. But it returned during the Finals. Kanter first announced that he was going to attend Game 3 in Atlanta, and specifically pointed out Angel Reese and Gabby Williams. On game day, Kanter wrote on X that he “got kicked out” of the game, following a claim he made in another tweet where he said that he was denied his purchased seat.
Before attending the game, Kanter posted a picture of the league’s response to Representative Marlin A. Stutzman. “Individuals you cite in your letter are both men,” read the lines in the letter signed by Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, the response to an inquiry about Kanter and White’s eligibility.