Former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White have made headlines recently for challenging the WNBA’s transgender athlete policy through a variety of stunts, including “declaring” for the WNBA Draft.
While some have cheered Kanter Freedom and White’s actions, former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell ripped them in a new interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson.
‘Who is that helping?’
Harrell, who last played in the league in 2023 and is currently in the process of attempting an NBA comeback, was asked by Robinson for his “honest thoughts” on the matter and where he “draws the line between legitimate advocacy and headline-grabbing stunts that draw focus away from women’s basketball.”
“I don’t entertain that, to be honest with you. That stuff is corny and lame,” Harrell responded. “I’m an actual WNBA fan. I’ve been to most of their games and went to Game 1 when the Aces made their back-to-back run. I was down there on the floor conversing with the MVP, All-Stars and the MVPs of the league. For guys like that to use their platform to disrespect it, that’s corny. I’m not a fan of it at all.”
Harrell added that he considers Kanter Freedom and White to be “two grown men running into arenas and public spaces making a mockery of yourselves.
“Who is that helping? I’m never going to say I understand what you’re doing, because what you’re doing is corny,” he said. “I know what you’re trying to say about men not playing with women, but just use your words as a grown man. Don’t try to berate women. Even when Enes Kanter got into it with Natasha Cloud, that was corny. You don’t gain cool points off that. I’m not a fan of it and wish it was something they wouldn’t do, because it’s not highlighting the message they claim to have about protecting women’s sports. I’m just not a fan of their overall stuff.”
An ongoing storyline
Kanter Freedom and White have been relatively quiet lately, likely because the WNBA has been on hiatus because of the FIFA Women’s Basketball World Cup. The two have been declared ineligible for the league’s draft, with Kanter Freedom earning a ban from Chicago’s Wintrust Arena for his aforementioned altercation with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud during an Aug. 23 game.
The former first-round pick has filed a lawsuit against the Sky, the City of Chicago and other entities alleging his First Amendment rights were infringed when he was ejected and later banned.
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