{"id":37261,"date":"2026-08-10T21:39:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T16:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=37261"},"modified":"2026-08-10T21:39:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T16:39:57","slug":"enes-kanter-freedom-officially-declares-for-wnba-draft-as-pressure-campaign-on-leagues-trans-policy-ratchets-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=37261","title":{"rendered":"Enes Kanter Freedom Officially Declares for WNBA Draft as Pressure Campaign on League\u2019s Trans Policy Ratchets Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5749762\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5749762\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5749762\" src=\"https:\/\/am11.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/08\/eneskf-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1489\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5749762\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Photo via Enes Freedom on X)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former NBA player <strong>Enes Kanter Freedom <\/strong>ratcheted up his campaign against the WNBA and its approach to trans issues on Monday by sharing he has made it &#8220;official-official&#8221; and declared for the league&#8217;s draft.<\/p>\n<p>The 6&#8217;10 Freedom posted a brief video of himself on X signing his letter to WNBA commissioner <strong>Cathy Engelbert\u00a0<\/strong>while wearing a black t-shirt declaring &#8220;Invest in women, Pay women, Hire women.&#8221; His video showed him dunking on an outdoor hoop as pundits sang his praises in the background; it also included a soundbite of Outkick founder <strong>Clay Travis<\/strong> saying the WNBA &#8220;does not ban men who identify as women from playing right now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Rules are rules!&#8221; Freedom captioned his video, which showed him sitting in front of a painting of <strong>George Washington<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The league&#8217;s bargaining agreement says only women can be drafted, but Freedom and <strong>Royce White<\/strong>, another ex-NBA player, have called out the WNBA for not defining what a woman is \u2014 and spurred both of them to declare they are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/sports\/ex-nba-player-enes-kanter-freedom-declares-for-wnba-in-latest-anti-trans-stunt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">entering the draft<\/a> as transgender women last week.<\/p>\n<p>White told Fox News on Sunday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/sports\/having-a-blast-in-my-feminine-era-ex-nba-player-dishes-to-fox-news-about-plan-to-enter-wnba-draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he was &#8220;having a blast in my feminine era&#8221;<\/a> and felt there was no reason for the WNBA to block him or Freedom from joining, since they would help spur fan interest and a ratings boost.<\/p>\n<p class=\"qualified qualified-1\">\u201cI never thought I was a woman. You know, I\u2019ve always trusted the science and I thought I was a man my entire life,&#8221; White said in his interview. &#8220;But after further review, [and] a strong look at my personal preferences, it would appear that I am indeed sometimes identifying as a transgender woman. And I think it\u2019s only fair I get a chance to play with some of my queens in the twilight of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>White was a first-round pick of the Houston Rockets in 2012, but only played three NBA games in his career due to struggles with generalized anxiety disorder; 34-year-old Freedom averaged 11 points and eight rebounds per game in his 11 NBA seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Their announcements spurred the WNBA to put out a statement saying it would not be \u201cused as political pawns.\u201d The WNBA is also planning on reviewing its approach to trans issues<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/08\/08\/sports\/wnba-task-force-to-discuss-growing-drama-around-transgender-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0at a task force meeting<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"qualified qualified-3\">All of this comes after Indiana Fever player\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/news\/watch-sophie-cunningham-gets-clobbered-with-vicious-hit-then-gets-accused-of-white-privilege\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Sophie Cunningham<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>has been at the center of a media firestorm, following her July remarks to ESPN she did not believe girls and women should play against biological boys and men who have transitioned.<\/p>\n<div id=\"AdThrive_Content_1_desktop\" class=\"adthrive-ad adthrive-sticky-container adthrive-content adthrive-content-1 unit-wrap adthrive-ad-cls\" data-google-query-id=\"CKb32MS2lpYDFd47RAgdqDgYkw\">\n<p>Here is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/49306657\/sophie-cunningham-finger-point-indiana-fever-wnba\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comment<\/a> which sparked the whole saga:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I\u2019m like, \u2018I never once said that,&#8217;\u201d [Cunningham] says. \u201cI 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\u2019t have to go against biological men.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/sports\/sophie-cunningham-question-spurs-wnba-pr-to-shut-down-interview-sends-indiana-fever-teammates-fleeing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cunningham&#8217;s<\/a> comment has been both praised and condemned, with some fans rallying in support of her and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/sneakers\/news\/sophie-cunningham-adidas-shoes-skyrocket-on-resale-market\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">making her Adidas sneakers<\/a> a must-have item. Others have criticized her for it, including one opposing coach who took a not-so-subtle shot at Cunningham by wearing a shirt declaring<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/sports\/wnba-coach-protests-sophie-cunningham-by-wearing-trans-kids-belong-shirt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> &#8220;Trans Kids Belong.&#8221;\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Freedom on Monday shared a look at his letter in a follow-up post.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Please accept this formal document as my official written notification to the Women&#8217;s National Basketball Association of my voluntary decision to enter the player pool for the 2027 WNBA Draft,&#8221; the letter said. &#8220;Consistent with the current league collective bargaining agreement, I am submitting this notice to exercise my draft rights and to affirm that I [am] at least twenty-two years old and that I have no remaining intercollegiate eligibility.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"8841b38f7d651a432d2e8ac24cfb74bf\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/LetFreedomPlay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LetFreedomPlay<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@WNBA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5CGa2H5iMV\">pic.twitter.com\/5CGa2H5iMV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EnesFreedom\/status\/2086838903286181948?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>He then asked the WNBA to verify it had received his application and thanked the league for processing it.<\/p>\n<p>Watch above.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/sports\/enes-kanter-freedom-officially-declares-for-wnba-draft-as-pressure-campaign-on-leagues-trans-policy-ratchets-up\/\">Enes Kanter Freedom Officially Declares for WNBA Draft as Pressure Campaign on League\u2019s Trans Policy Ratchets Up<\/a> first appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\">Mediaite<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Photo via Enes Freedom on X) Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom ratcheted up his campaign against the WNBA and its approach to trans issues on Monday by sharing he has made it &#8220;official-official&#8221; and declared for the league&#8217;s draft. The 6&#8217;10 Freedom posted a brief video of himself on X signing his letter to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/am11.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/08\/eneskf-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}