Enes Kanter Freedom Says He’s Entering 2027 WNBA Draft Amid Transgender Athlete Debate

Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom says he is declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft, a move intended to challenge the league over its eligibility rules as the debate surrounding transgender athletes in women’s sports continues.

Freedom, 34, announced his plans in a video Friday while wearing a WNBA sweatshirt. The former NBA first-round pick said his team had reviewed the league’s eligibility requirements and argued that he should be allowed to enter the draft if gender self-identification is sufficient to qualify for women’s competition.

The 6-foot-10 former center made clear that his announcement is intended to make a point about biological differences in athletics. Freedom argued that allowing biological males to compete against women would create an unfair competitive advantage and said he wants the WNBA to clearly establish where it stands on the issue.

Freedom’s announcement follows controversy involving Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who has spoken out against biological males competing in women’s sports. Cunningham has emerged as one of the WNBA players most willing to publicly address the issue, bringing increased attention to the league’s position on transgender participation.

The controversy intensified after two teenage girls attended a WNBA game wearing shirts referencing XX and XY chromosomes, with one carrying a sign thanking Cunningham for speaking up for girls. Their presence sparked a confrontation involving Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton and further fueled the national debate surrounding the league.

Freedom spent 11 seasons in the NBA after being selected third overall by the Utah Jazz in the 2011 NBA Draft. He later played for several teams, including the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder before his NBA career ended in 2022.

His attempt to enter the WNBA would face significant questions under the league’s existing rules. The current collective bargaining agreement states that only women are eligible to play in the WNBA, but Freedom is using his declaration to challenge how gender identity would factor into that requirement and whether the league would permit a transgender athlete who was born male to compete.

Former NBA player Royce White followed Freedom with a similar announcement, saying he also intends to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft. White said he identifies as a woman for professional basketball purposes and threatened legal action if the league refuses to allow him to participate.

Neither Freedom nor White appears to be treating the declarations as conventional attempts at basketball comebacks. Instead, the former NBA players are using the draft process to pressure the WNBA into confronting a politically charged question that has become increasingly prominent throughout women’s sports: whether eligibility should ultimately be determined by biological sex or gender identity.