Former NBA players Enes Kanter and Royce White both “declared” for the WNBA draft following Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments on transgender athletes participating in women’s sports.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham said in a July 21 ESPN profile. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
“After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I’m officially declaring myself a (WNBA) prospect,” Kanter posted on X. “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.”
Unfortunately for Kanter and White, their stunts appear to have hit the end of the road. According to Front Office Sports, Freedom and White are not eligible to play in the WNBA.
FIRST @FOS: Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, two ex-NBA players, are not eligible to play in the WNBA, league sources say.
Sources call their draft declarations “publicity stunts” and say the league has no immediate eligibility matters to address.⬇️https://t.co/ICxGLe0YBv
— Colin Salao (@colincsalao) August 24, 2026
A league source told FOS the draft declarations were “simply publicity stunts” and said that the league is “not going to give oxygen to efforts designed to mock the league or use this topic to demean and marginalize others.”
The source made it clear that the WNBA “will not allow outside pressure or manufactured controversy to dictate league processes.”
The league’s determination on the matter sparked reactions on social media.
“Those lawsuits are gonna hit loudly,” NFL writer Rhodes Rants posted on X.
“BAD DAY FOR THE WORST PEOPLE YOU KNOW,” someone else added.
“This publicity stunt should have been either ignored or shut down from the beginning by the league’s front office. The talent across the WNBA has probably never been better, yet the league can’t seem to get out of its own way,” one fan added.
Hopefully, this allows the focus on the league to remain on the baskeball being played on the floor with the playoffs rapidly approaching.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.