Two former NBA first-round picks say they now identify as women so they can enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, and the league can’t point to a rule that clearly says they can’t.
Quick Take
- Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft hours apart, saying they identify as women to qualify.
- The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement says only “only players who are women are eligible,” but never defines “woman.”
- The league has not accepted either man’s declaration or confirmed he is actually eligible.
- WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert called the issue “complex” in an internal memo as the league reviews its rules.
Two Former NBA Players Make Their Move
Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White both announced they are declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft on the same day in August 2026. Freedom, a longtime NBA center, and White, a former first-round pick who played only three career NBA games, said they now identify as women for the purpose of playing professional basketball. Both men have described their move as a direct challenge to the league’s rules, not a genuine attempt to join a team.
Freedom said he carefully reviewed the WNBA’s eligibility guidelines before declaring. He argued that if simple self-identification is enough, he already qualifies. White made a similar case, saying he is “simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone”. Both men are known for holding conservative political views, and reporting notes their announcement lands squarely inside the ongoing national fight over transgender athletes in women’s sports.
What the League Rulebook Actually Says
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement contains one short sentence on the subject. Article XIII, Section 1(a) states: “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA”. Multiple outlets reviewed the same text and found it does not define the word “woman.” It also contains no language addressing gender identity, transition, or self-declaration. That gap is exactly what Freedom and White say they are testing.
Legal analysts point out the rule was likely never meant to answer this question. It was written to separate men’s and women’s professional basketball, not to settle a modern debate over gender identity. Because the clause is so brief, it leaves real room for interpretation, and reporters note the league has no public-facing transgender-athlete policy sitting alongside it.
League Response Remains Unsettled
The WNBA has not accepted either declaration as valid, and reporting says neither man has actually submitted formal draft paperwork. No league official has publicly stated that self-identification alone is enough to make someone eligible. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo describing the topic as “complex,” and the league says it is now reviewing its eligibility rules following the two announcements.
The league’s silence on a formal ruling has become its own point of tension. Because the WNBA has not clearly accepted or rejected the declarations, critics on multiple sides argue the league is stalling rather than settling the question directly. Supporters of Freedom and White say that hesitation proves their point: the rule is too vague to enforce with confidence. Others counter that a short rule can still mean exactly what it says.
'I'm Transgender. I'm a Woman' – Second Former NBA Player Announces Plans to Enter Next WNBA Draft (VIDEO) Another former NBA player on Friday announced he has plans to enter the WNBA draft.
“As I stated a few days ago, I am declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft,” said former NBA…
— JulietteSchwartz (@Juliett59778255) August 9, 2026
Why This Fight Matters Beyond Basketball
This dispute fits a wider pattern seen across women’s sports. Governing bodies often write eligibility rules using a single word like “woman” without spelling out how that term applies to transgender or intersex athletes. When someone tests that gap publicly, leagues tend to delay a hard ruling rather than issue one right away. That pattern shows up here, with the WNBA reviewing policy instead of announcing a clear decision.
For fans and players on both sides, the core frustration is the same: an institution wrote a rule, and now nobody, including the institution itself, seems willing to say plainly what it means or how it will be enforced. Whether Freedom and White are taken seriously as draft prospects matters less than what their stunt exposed. A major professional league’s eligibility standard for its entire sport rests on a single undefined sentence.
Sources:
facebook.com, rollingout.com, forbes.com, peopleslawreview.com, foxnews.com, indystar.com
