A highly unusual dispute involving two former NBA players has produced an apparent answer, but not an official explanation.
Multiple league sources say Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White will be ineligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft. The WNBA itself had not publicly announced that decision when this article was prepared.
A decision without a public ruling
A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that neither former NBA player would be eligible.
The source remained anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the situation. No explanation was provided for how the decision had been reached.
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The report added that Kanter Freedom and White had announced their intention to enter the next draft, but that the WNBA had not publicly addressed either declaration.
ESPN received the same information from several sources around the league. They said both players were ineligible and that no immediate rule changes were expected.
The conclusion from those reports is clear. The process behind it remains far less transparent because the WNBA has not published a formal decision or detailed reasoning.
Kanter Freedom says nobody told him
Kanter Freedom immediately rejected suggestions that the matter had already been settled.
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“I haven’t heard anything from the WNBA officials yet. Fake News!” he told the New York Post.
His denial does not necessarily contradict the anonymous sources. It instead highlights the difference between an internal league position and a decision formally communicated to the people involved.
Kanter Freedom played 11 seasons in the NBA, representing teams including the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.
White appeared in three NBA games and later pursued a political career. Both have said they identify as women for the purpose of entering the draft and have presented their actions as a challenge to the league’s rules.
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One sentence sits at the centre
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement states that only players who are women are eligible to play in the league.
It does not contain a more specific publicly available definition dealing with gender identity or sex assigned at birth. No known transgender woman has played in the WNBA.
Kanter Freedom and White have pointed towards that absence of additional language. It does not, however, establish that self-identification alone is sufficient to enter the draft.
The WNBA previously said that no immediate eligibility matter required action. In a statement reported by The Guardian, it also condemned attempts to use the issue to demean or marginalise others.
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Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said discussions with teams and the players’ association would continue. She identified fair competition and the integrity of the game as central considerations.
The dispute moved courtside
The eligibility reports arrived one day after Kanter Freedom was removed from the 23 August game between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever.
He sat near the baseline wearing a shirt defining a woman as an adult human female. During a third-quarter timeout, Sky guard Natasha Cloud approached him and a verbal confrontation developed.
Security separated them and escorted Kanter Freedom from Wintrust Arena after he moved towards the court. According to ESPN’s account, Cloud later reiterated her support for transgender people.
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The WNBA had not announced any future arena ban for Kanter Freedom. The draft at the centre of the controversy is not due to take place until April 2027.
That gives the league time to publish a formal explanation. Until then, the reported outcome may be clear, but its official basis remains unanswered.
