Enes Kanter Freedom is vehemently denying allegations that suggest he will be barred from playing in the WNBA, labeling such claims as pure “fake news.”
Reports emerged on Monday across various media platforms stating that the former NBA player would be excluded from the league’s draft. A source shared with Front Office Sports that the WNBA intends to avoid facilitating any efforts aimed at ridiculing the league or that could be perceived as undermining and demeaning individuals.
However, Freedom revealed to Stefan Bondy of The Post that he has received no official communication from the WNBA regarding any potential disqualification.
“There has been no word from WNBA officials,” Freedom confidently stated. “This is fake news!”
In an interesting twist, Freedom, alongside Royce White, who was picked in the first round by the NBA’s Rockets in 2012, has declared themselves as women eligible for the WNBA draft. This move comes amid the heated discussion around the participation of transgender athletes in female sports categories.
A league source described Freedom and White’s declarations as “simply publicity stunts” to FOS.
The WNBA has become the battleground in a culture war ignited when Fever player Sophie Cunningham told ESPN in an interview published in July she wants “to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
Freedom was ejected from Wintrust Arena on Sunday night after getting into a verbal altercation with Sky star Natasha Cloud during a game against the Fever.
Freedom wore a shirt to the game that read, “WOMAN noun. adult human female.”
The ex-NBA player claimed to several media outlets that Cloud had shouted at him, “[Cunningham] is not going to sleep with you.”
In an interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News, he repeated the claim, to the bewilderment of the host, who asked, “Are you trying to sleep with Sophie Cunningham?”
Freedom denied that he was.
“Definitely not, definitely not. I’m going to make this very clear, definitely not,” he said on the program.