Former NBA basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom has officially declared for the 2027 WNBA draft in a protest over league eligibility rules. On Monday, Kanter posted a 30-second social media video of himself signing his draft entry declaration for the US women's basketball league. The Turkish-born player, who became a US citizen in 2021, wore a shirt displaying the slogan invest in women, pay women, hire women.
Kanter said his entry aims to force the WNBA to re-examine its policies on transgender athletes. He wrote on social media that if self-declaration is all that is required, he meets every condition to play in the league. He added that he does not intend to mock any community or personal choices, but wants rules applied equally according to values promoted by WNBA players and coaches.
The move follows growing controversy over the league's stance on transgender competitors. Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham sparked debate by opposing transgender female athletes in women's school and college sports. Left-leaning fans booed Cunningham at away games, while WNBA head coaches Cheryl Reeve of the Minnesota Lynx and Natalie Nakase of the Golden State Valkyries defended transgender inclusion. Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams said she would welcome a transgender player on her team or opponent roster.
Political debate and player eligibility rules
The debate drew widespread political and media commentary. President Donald Trump suggested NBA star LeBron James could identify as a woman to play in the WNBA. OutKick commentator Chris Travis suggested forming an all-transgender team, while liberal commentator Bill Maher cited Cunningham and said 80 percent of Americans share her view.
Former tennis star Martina Navratilova backed Cunningham as pro-women rather than anti-trans, rejecting a headline in The Telegraph newspaper that called Cunningham basketball's new anti-trans MAGA poster girl. MAGA refers to the slogan Make America Great Again used by the US president.
Trump and other critics have clashed with the WNBA since player protests during his first presidential term. However, public polling indicates broad support for restricting women's sports categories. According to a poll commissioned by The New York Times, 67 percent of Democrats support closing women's sports to transgender women.
Royce White, a 35-year-old Black Republican politician who played briefly for the Sacramento Kings in 2014, also announced plans to enter the WNBA draft. White stated that in the context of basketball he sometimes identifies as a woman.
The WNBA collective bargaining agreement specifies that only women can play, but league officials called the wording brief and vague. League leadership announced an upcoming meeting on the issue, while the players union issued a statement condemning hatred, abuse, and demonization of the transgender community while reaffirming its commitment to fairness, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Human rights campaigning and sports regulations
Kanter has a long history of political activism. He cannot return to Turkey due to an arrest warrant over links to the opposition Gülen Movement, having previously called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the Hitler of our century. In 2021, he urged a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over Chinese government treatment of Uyghur and Kazakh minorities.
During his NBA career, Kanter wore shoes marked Free China. He stated he was forced out of the league at age 30 because Commissioner Adam Silver objected to his criticism of China, an allegation the NBA denies despite earning hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the Chinese market.
The WNBA remains one of the few elite sports bodies open to transgender women. Governing organizations in track and field, swimming, and cycling have removed transgender women from female competitions. The International Olympic Committee announced gender testing for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and the WTA tennis tour recently introduced gender testing.
USA Rugby responded to global bans on transgender women by eliminating its men's division, replacing it with an open category while restricting the women's category to players who pass gender tests. Professional golf uses a similar structure, with top female players occasionally competing in men's major tournaments.
