Two ex-NBA players turn transgender identity into a stunt. The WNBA is responding

This story originally appeared on Them.

After two male basketball players publicly declared that they will identify as women only to qualify for the WNBA draft, the women’s professional sports league will soon hold meetings to clarify its language about gender eligibility.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a note to teams on Friday, August 7, saying that officials would soon meet to clarify eligibility for trans players.

“I know many of you have received questions in recent weeks regarding transgender athlete participation in women's basketball, and I expect this topic will continue to receive significant attention,” Engelbert said in the memo, which was obtained by ESPN. “I wanted to reach out to share how we are approaching these conversations at the league office and to thank those of you who have responded to questions from the media with thoughtfulness and professionalism.”

A task force of team presidents and general managers, which was already set to meet this week, will now add the question of eligibility by gender to their agenda.

Currently, the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement does not have any language regarding trans players and states, “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” per The Athletic.

Engelbert’s announcement came after two former professional basketballers, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declared that they plan to declare for the WNBA draft. Neither Freedom nor White has previously made any statements about being trans and have both expressly stated that they are doing this to exploit vague language in the WNBA’s policy.

“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” Freedom wrote on X. “Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027.”

Freedom added that he is “definitely not here to mock, make fun of or disrespect any community or personal choices.”

The Women’s National Basketball Players’ Association, the players’ union for the WNBA, released a statement shortly after Freedom’s stunt went viral. “We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change,” the statement reads.

“Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations,” the post continued. “But we will not be used as political pawns.”

Just hours after Freedom’s declaration, former NBA player Royce White also said that he would declare for the WNBA draft, saying that he identifies as a woman only when it comes to playing basketball.

“I’m transgender. I’m a woman. I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I’ll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well,“ White told Fox News. “I think I’d be unstoppable. But I’m a team-first guy. I’m a pass-first kind of player. I do the little things. I led my team in all five major stat categories at Iowa State University, so I do a little bit of everything. I’ll do whatever the coach needs me to do. I’ll do whatever the girls need me to do.”

White also said that he would be open to suing the WNBA if he were not allowed to be a part of the draft, all while making transphobic comments about genitalia.

“I think the WNBA could come out and make a definitive statement about guys with a pair of balls playing in the Women’s Association,“ he said. White said that he doesn’t “want to be discriminated against. I want fair treatment. I’m a young Black, hopefully United States Senator that would like a fair chance to participate as a sometimes-identifying-as-a-transgender-woman athlete.” (White is currently running for U.S. Senate in Minnesota.)

“We’re gonna have to have a huge legal battle about discrimination if I can’t play,” he continued.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis also took time from his schedule to comment on news of the upcoming meeting in which WNBA officials will discuss player eligibility. “WNBA meeting to decide whether 2+2=4 or 2+2=5,” he wrote on X on Saturday.

The WNBA has also been in a highly visible public conversation about trans athletes in the last few weeks, with several athletes and coaches speaking out on the issue. The weeks of public comments began with Indiana Fever team member Sophie Cunningham, whose embrace of anti-trans rhetoric in a July ESPN profile has gained her many right-wing fans, including notorious fifth-place loser and Trump lackey Riley Gaines. Vice President JD Vance has also shown support for Cunningham, calling her anti-trans rhetoric “courageous” in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Thursday.

The controversy has led to support for trans inclusion, as well. Last week, when approached by a reporter, WNBA player Gabby Williams said she would “welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime.”

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