During an Oklahoma rally Thursday night, President Donald Trump gave a left-field pledge to former NBA stars Enes Kanter Freedom and Dennis Rodman.
In early August, Kanter Freedom announced he was declaring for the 2027 WNBA draft to assert himself in the transgender athletes-in-women’s-sports conversation.
“After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I’m officially declaring myself a WNBA prospect,” Kanter Freedom 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. Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027.”
Trump mocks the WNBA
In a random attempt at crowd humor during Thursday’s rally, President Trump spotted both Kanter Freedom and Rodman in attendance and said he’d give the two former athletes a full pardon to compete in the WNBA. Both support the administration; Rodman even considered a friend.
“So those two guys, they are good, and they have an exemption,” Trump said via Mediaite. “I’m giving them a full pardon that they can go into women’s sports anytime they want… And I guarantee you when they do, they will break, even though they’re slightly older; although Freedom looks like he’s pretty young, they will break every record in the history of women’s sports.”
The comments come in the middle of the WNBA playoffs, which can’t be a good look for the relationship between the women’s league and the Trump administration.
Kanter Freedom is relentless
Kanter Freedom has recently spoken out on X about the WNBA’s failure to define which genders are allowed to participate in the league.
“There are 217 WNBA players in the league, and now I’m speaking directly to all of you. I’m astonished,” Kanter Freedom said. “You play in a league and have a commissioner who cannot and will not define your gender and is embarrassing you in front of the entire world. Yet none of you have the BALLS to stand up for yourselves and say, ‘Enough is enough.’ And that’s the whole point. None of you have balls, and it needs to stay that way.
“I guess biology is still pending committee approval. They’re trying to figure out how to define a woman in a way that fits their nonsense agenda.”
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