Enes Kanter Freedom Criticizes WNBA’s Draft Ruling: A Demand for Fairness and Equality

In a bold move that has sent ripples through the sports community, former NBA standout Enes Kanter Freedom is doubling down on his intention to enter the WNBA Draft. Amid swirling reports that the women’s basketball league has ruled him ineligible for the 2027 draft, the ex-NBA player remains undeterred. Kanter Freedom’s declaration to join the WNBA comes during a heated debate over transgender athletes in sports. Reports surfaced Monday indicating the league has decided that both he and fellow former NBA player Royce White, who also declared interest, would not be allowed to compete. This latest development follows closely on the heels of an altercation at a WNBA game, where Kanter Freedom was escorted out after a skirmish with Chicago Sky’s Natasha Cloud while watching courtside. The confrontation, which erupted between Kanter Freedom and Cloud during a matchup against the Indiana Fever, quickly went viral as the two exchanged heated words before security intervened. On the same day, Kanter Freedom addressed the ongoing controversy in an interview with Fox News.

In response to the league’s reported decision, Kanter Freedom stated, “Listen, Article 13 Section 1 says if you identify as a woman, then you are allowed to play! I identify as a woman, so yes, I can play.” He further provoked the discussion by claiming, “They’re terrified because I might actually get drafted and play against their big men. I’m probably going to drop 60 points… I’m going to try to beat Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 100 points in a single game. I might go over 100 points for sure.” According to the WNBA’s current collective bargaining agreement, only individuals identifying as female are eligible, yet no detailed definition of a woman is provided.

Front Office Sports reported that a representative from the WNBA remarked, “We are not going to give oxygen to efforts designed to mock the league or use this topic to demean and marginalize others.” When Kanter Freedom was challenged with the notion that he would ultimately be barred from playing in the WNBA, he replied, “Why not? That’s the rules. I’m just following the rules. If they ever come out and say: ‘Okay, we’re changing the rules,’ I respect their decision, I will follow the rules.”

“But right now, if you identify as a woman, you’re allowed to play. And I am identifying as a woman and I should be allowed to play,” he reiterated. At Sunday’s game in Wintrust Arena, Kanter Freedom sported a provocative T-shirt displaying a stark dictionary definition of ‘woman’ as an ‘Adult human female,’ with the terms woman and female underscored in red. Despite receiving a chilly reception and being expelled from the event, Kanter Freedom denied rumors of being banned from future WNBA games the following Monday.

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Confident and unfazed, the 34-year-old player announced his plan to attend all of the Indiana Fever’s upcoming playoff games. “I have not heard it [about an arena ban],” Kanter Freedom declared. “If there is any news out there, please don’t listen to those sources because it’s all fake news. I did not break any kind of rules. I did not step over the baseline. I simply got up and just opened my arms. So they should not be banning me from any games and I am so excited for the playoffs. I cannot wait to go to every playoff game that Indiana Fever plays. It’s going to be fun because I’m a fan of the game.”

Fever games have been hit by protests and counter protests in recent weeks after Sophie Cunningham sparked a war of words by claiming she wants to ‘protect young girls… who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.’ During his interview on Monday, Kanter Freedom branded Cunningham a ‘national treasure’ who ‘should be protected at all costs.’ ‘She is an American hero,’ he told Fox. ‘Because she’s not only inspiring young girls in America but all over the world. So she is an idol, a hero.’ The 6ft 10ins Freedom previously alleged that it was Cloud who initiated their courtside confrontation and told him that Cunningham ‘won’t sleep with you.’

He told OutKick: ‘Sophie Cunningham shot a three, and I put my hands up to celebrate. Literally, a couple [of] possessions later, Natasha came back and started screaming and yelling and said, “She’s not gonna sleep with you.” ‘And I was like, “I am not trying to sleep with her. I’m just here to protect women and support her.” And then, obviously, after that, she started yapping, and she started to walk towards me, and literally I just got up, and then I was like, “I’m just here to protect women, and that’s all.”

‘She started to yell. She started to use some very heavy language. She started to actually cuss, and I was very shocked that there were a lot of kids and that there were a lot of teenagers at that game. ‘I just cannot believe that she was just cussing and using those [expletive] in front of all these kids. I’m sure she’s loved in Chicago and many kids are idolizing her and stuff, but that’s not how a WNBA athlete should react.’ Taking to X after he was removed by security, Freedom wrote: ‘I just got kicked out of a @WNBA game for supporting WOMEN! Let that sink in, AMERICA!’ He also wrote: ‘It’s always women hating on other women’.