The WNBA has limited options after two men declared for the draft, and those options aren't great
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Video Former NBA player Royce White announces intention to declare for the WNBA Draft, becoming second ex-pro to do so Former NBA first-round pick Royce White told Fox News Digital that he will be declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft, just hours after fellow former NBA player Enes Kanter said he would.
Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White put the WNBA in an almost impossible spot on Friday when they declared for the 2027 Draft in the wake of the Sophie Cunningham drama, and the ways out are limited.
Frankly, none of them are great for the league, which is, presumably, the point. Unless, of course, both former NBA stars are just itching to get back in the game of basketball.
For those who missed it, Kanter and White called the WNBA's bluff by both declaring their intention to enter next year's draft within hours of each other Friday evening.
"If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA," Freedom stated in a social media post.
"I'm transgender. I'm a woman. I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I'll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well," White later added. "They’re going to have nightmares, and they should. I really feel like I’m going to be dominant."
What a moment for those two! Trailblazers. They'll be like modern-day Jackie Robinsons next year when they hear their names called.
Of course, there is a long way to go to get to that point. A loooooooooong way. It's more likely than not that it never happens, which I'm assuming both guys (girls?) would prefer.
Enes Kanter Freedom warming up before game vs Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Los Angeles, CA. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
That would mean the WNBA stepped in and told both they were not eligible for the draft because they are very clearly not women. That's the best case scenario for them, and the worst case for the WNBA.
It would shatter all the performative nonsense they've shoved down our throats for the past month/year/decade.
So, here are a couple options forward, best I can tell ...
This is probably the cleanest break, and it's certainly in the WNBA's wheelhouse. The league is rudderless. They could simply come out and say, "We're aware of two former NBA players recently declaring for next year's draft. They are ineligible under the current league rules. We have no further comment."
Refusing to elaborate is the best play for the league, mainly because the "reporters" who cover the WNBA are shills for the league and refuse to ask any actual questions. I can assure you that most of them are disgusted by White and Freedom, and would love this story to go away. They will most likely play ball.
OutKick is already basically banned from most WNBA events at this point, so don't depend on us asking them to elaborate. They wouldn't let us get within a MILE of a WNBA facility after making this statement.
Dan Zaksheske's face would be plastered on the walls of every locker room. Jon Root would have a restraining order out on him around every WNBA arena. It would be the most non-inclusive inclusive league of all time.
I can't believe I just wrote the word "cisgender." Lordy. What a time to be alive.
Cisgender means a person's gender identity matches the sex they were identified as at birth. The league could say the two have publicly lived and identified as men, rather then as transgender women, and therefore don't meet the draft requirements.
WNBA STAR SAYS SHE WOULD WELCOME A TRANS PLAYER TO HER TEAM, AND THEN SAYS SOMETHING EVEN DUMBER
Those requirements are laid out in Article XIII, Section 1(a) of the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement. They say, "Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA," but doesn't define the word "woman" and there is nothing about gender identification.
Not a very inclusive bargaining agreement for a league that prides itself on it. Tisk tisk.
The WNBA probably won't go this route because the immediate follow-up question would be, "Fine. What distinguishes an eligible transgender woman from Enes Kanter Freedom?"
Again, you'd need actual media in the room to ask that question, so perhaps the league can explore this option.
Julie Tetart, a transgender player for Monaco and the top player in the French second-division basketball league, is pictured in Reims, France, on Jan. 10, 2026. (ZUMA PRESS)
Another fun one! The league could scramble and put a clause into the rulebook that outlines who can and cannot play in the WNBA.
For example, something along the lines of, "Trans women can only enter the draft after showing proper transition history and hormone levels." The league could create some sort of criteria out of thin air — most of these trans arguments are created out of thin air, so this would be easy — and wiggle their way out of the mess that way.
If they go this route, they get to remain the proper level of woke, but also keep White and Freedom out of the league ... for now.
Riley Gaines, Sophie Cunningham, and XX-XY Athletics founder Jen Sey pose courtside after an Indiana Fever game with a sign thanking Cunningham. (Riley Gaines/XX-XY Athletics)
I call this the "I-4 of routes." For those who live in Florida, you know that Interstate 4, which runs through the middle of the state, is a hellscape. I believe at one point, it was the deadliest highway in America.
It's horrible. I've seen things happen on that interstate that still give me the shivers to this day.
The WNBA coming out and saying both men cannot play in the league because they are ... men ... is the I-4 of routes they could take here. No shot this is happening. The narrative would crumble. The virtue-signaling and pandering and gaslighting would end.
The trans community would be furious. The left would revolt. It would be anarchy.
Remember, this is the league that has made trans rights its "battle," as Golden State star…
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