A second ex-NBA first-round pick eyes WNBA Draft: ‘I’m transgender. I’m a woman’
· Yahoo Sports
A second former NBA player now says he plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft.
Just hours after Enes Kanter Freedom announced that he planned to enter, Royce White, who is also running in Minnesota’s Aug. 11 Republican Primary for Senate, told Fox News that he also plans to enter the draft.
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“I’m transgender. I’m a woman.” White told Fox. “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.”
No transgender or male player has ever played in the WNBA. The league’s collective bargaining agreement says that only women can play in the league.
Nevertheless, after Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham told ESPN that she was against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, debate has stirred. And the subject of transgender athletes or men playing in the WNBA has been at the forefront of discussion for many right-wing influencers on social media.
White, 35, is a 6-foot-8, 260-pound forward who was a star at Iowa State before the Houston Rockets took him in the first round, 16th overall, of the 2012 NBA Draft. White, who has a history of generalized anxiety disorder and a fear of flying, quickly parted ways with Houston due to his mental health issues. He did play in three games for the Sacramento Kings in 2014.
White also has a history of controversy.
A Minnesota judge ruled in April that White abused his ex-wife and child and handed down a 50-year no-contact order involving his ex-wife, according to The Minnesota Star-Tribune.He was also hit with a two-year order pertaining to their son.
Despite all of that, White told Fox he plans on returning to the hardwood against women.
“I think I’d be unstoppable,” he said. “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. I think it’s only fair.”
White said he would only consider changing his mind if the WNBA “could come out and make a definitive statement” about men playing in the league.
“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 told Fox.
White’s announcement came hours after Kanter Freedom’s.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound center, who was the third overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, made the announcement in a video posted to X.
“After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I am officially declaring myself a WNBA prospect,” he said. “If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA. My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion.
“Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in May 2027.”
It was particularly cheered on by right-wing influencers.
“Enes has now said she’s a woman,” Riley Gaines wrote on X. “If (ESPN) covers this (unlikely), and doesn’t refer to Enese as the beautiful woman she is, then they’re invalidating her entire existence. Essentially equivalent to genocide.”
“LETS GO!” Gunther Eagleman wrote. “Enes Kanter Freedom just shot to #1 on X after saying he’s declaring himself a prospect for the 2027 WNBA Draft to challenge the league’s eligibility rules. One post and suddenly the entire women’s sports debate is back at center court.”
Others did not see Kanter Freedom’s announcement the same way.
“All these jerks are like ‘any bum (expletive) male bball player can dominate in the WNBA all we need is someone to volunteer to make the point,’ David Dennis Jr. wrote on X. “And Enes Kanter was like ‘I’m the bum (expletive) player you’ve all been looking for!’”
“Enes Kanter still wouldn’t even be the best player in the WNBA and that’s the sad part,” Trehausen wrote on X.
“What a loser,” Caroline Fenton wrote on X.
“I know my presence on the court will stir up strong opinions,” Kanter Freedom wrote on X. “I am definitely not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or personal choices. I’m simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone — the rules that represent the very values many WNBA players and coaches have publicly advocated for. My team and I are prepared to ensure these guidelines are applied equally, consistently, and without exception, and I look forward to the #WNBA honoring its stated principles.
“See you at training camp.”
Kanter previously told Fox News that someone needs only to put on a wig to play in the WNBA.
“I mean, would that be fair?” he said. “I am 7-foot, 270 pounds. And if I decided to identify myself as a woman and decided to play in the WNBA — put on a wig, and I change my name to just say ‘Enesha’ — would that be fair to all the women who chase their dreams since they were a little kid?”
Kanter Freedom also claimed he would score 60 points per game.
Kanter Freedom, 34, was selected third overall by the Utah Jazz in 2011.
He played in 748 games across 12 NBA seasons, averaging 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
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