WNBA To Convene Task Force After Two Former NBA Players Declare for 2027 Draft, Citing League’s Inclusion Policies

The Women’s National Basketball Association will convene a task force this week to address transgender athletes in joining the league after two former NBA players said they were going to enter draft based on the league’s policies on athlete qualifications. Ms. Engelbert said a task force comprised of WNBA team presidents and general managers will be added to the agenda of a previously scheduled meeting.“I know many of you have received questions in recent weeks regarding transgender athlete participation in women’s basketball, and I expect this topic will continue to receive significant attention,” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert wrote in a memo to teams sent Friday afternoon and obtained by The Associated Press. “I wanted to reach out to share how we are approaching these conversations at the league office and to thank those of you who have responded to questions from the media with thoughtfulness and professionalism.”Two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft on Friday, citing the league’s transgender inclusion policies and challenging the Women’s National Basketball Players Association to clarify its eligibility criteria.Mr. Freedom, a 6’10”, 250-pound center who played 748 regular-season games across 11 NBA seasons for the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Boston Celtics, announced his intention via social media.“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” he wrote on X, adding that his advisers had “carefully reviewed the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and government framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion.”“I am definitely not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or personal choices,” Mr. Freedom added. “I’m simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone — the rules that represent the very values many WNBA players and coaches have publicly advocated for.”Hours later, Mr. White — a 6’8″, 260-pound forward and Republican United States Senate candidate who was selected 16th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft but appeared in just three career games — made his own announcement on Fox News. “I’m transgender. I’m a woman. I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for the purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I’ll be declaring for the WNBA Draft in 2027 as well,” Mr. White told Fox News before spending the weekend sharing posts about his gender realignment. “I think I’d be unstoppable. But I’m a team-first guy. … I think it’s only fair.” The thing is, both men are, well, men. Both sport masculine beards, and neither appears to currently be in transition. Instead, the two are testing Article XIII of the WNBA’s 2026 collective bargaining agreement, which says, “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.”The declarations follow Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s public comments opposing transgender participation in women’s sports, which sparked widespread debate across the league. The WNBA has remained largely silent on the matter.In response to the declarations by Mr. White and Mr. Freedom, the WNBA released a statement: “We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change. Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.”According to OutKick, the WNBA now faces several difficult options. The league could reject both players without explanation — likely the cleanest outcome. It could reject them specifically as cisgender men, though that would invite questions about how a transgender woman would be distinguished from Mr. Freedom or Mr. White. The league could also create an objective trans-eligibility standard, such as hormone level requirements — a move that would kick the issue down the road without resolving it. Finally, and most controversially, it could accept both players as eligible, a decision OutKick described as potentially “the beginning of the end for the WNBA.”Mr. White, who is on the ballot in Minnesota’s August 11 Republican primary for Senate, has indicated he will pursue legal action if he goes undrafted. “I have to file a discrimination lawsuit, right? We’re gonna’ have to have a huge legal battle about discrimination if I can’t play,” he told Fox News.Mr. Freedom ended his WNBA Draft announcement by saying, “My team and I are prepared to ensure these guidelines are applied equally, consistently, and without exception, and I look forward to the WNBA honoring its stated principles. See you at training camp.”

WNBA To Convene Task Force After Two Former NBA Players Declare for 2027 Draft, Citing League’s Inclusion Policies

WNBA To Convene Task Force After Two Former NBA Players Declare for 2027 Draft, Citing League’s Inclusion Policies

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