Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, both former NBA players, announced their intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, claiming they identify as female to challenge the league's rules on transgender athlete participation [1, 2, 3].
The WNBA confirmed both players are ineligible to participate and will not allow them to compete [4, 1, 2, 3]. League sources described Kanter and White’s declarations as publicity stunts aimed at mocking the league and others involved [1, 3]. The league’s current collective bargaining agreement, effective March 2026, restricts eligibility to players identified as female but does not explicitly define "female" or address transgender participation [4, 1, 2, 3]. The WNBA has no publicly available guidelines on evaluating gender criteria and said it has no immediate plans to change its rules [4, 2, 3].
In August 2026, Kanter sparked a confrontation at a Chicago Sky WNBA game by wearing a T-shirt stating "WOMAN noun. adult human female," which led to an on-court incident with player Natasha Cloud and Kanter’s ejection from the game [4, 2, 3]. Kanter contested this action, stating, "我只是因為支持女性就被踢出WNBA比賽，美國，大家好好想一想吧！" (I was ejected simply for supporting women) [4]. Cloud confronted Kanter during the game and afterwards posted a social message affirming, "我永遠是跨性別的保護者。" (I am forever a protector of transgender people) [2].
Some fans and commentators have suggested possible rule changes, including banning players who previously competed in men's professional or collegiate basketball to maintain fairness [2].
WNBA sources gave differing accounts on the league’s explanation for Kanter and White’s ineligibility. One source said the WNBA made the decision but refused to clarify criteria publicly [1], while others said the league viewed the declarations as publicity stunts without issuing a formal public explanation [2, 3].
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement from March 2026 remains in effect, and no new eligibility rules are scheduled. The 2027 draft, for which Kanter and White declared their entry, will proceed under existing eligibility criteria [4, 1, 2, 3].
