{"id":850412,"date":"2026-08-08T08:42:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:42:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/850412\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:42:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:42:12","slug":"ex-nba-pick-enes-kanter-freedom-declares-for-wnba-2027-draft-as-transgender-athlete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/850412\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NBA pick Enes Kanter Freedom declares for WNBA 2027 Draft as transgender athlete"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>   <a class=\"fw\" href=\"https:\/\/profile.google.com\/cp\/Cg0vZy8xMWcxajNfc2h3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hitc.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> Follow us on Google Discover <\/a>  <\/p>\n<p>The conversation surrounding transgender athletes in sports is heating up again. It has taken the WNBA world by storm, and now Enes Kanter-Freedom has involved himself.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie Cunningham spoke about wanting to protect women\u2019s sports, and it has unleashed an intense debate. The biggest current topic in the WNBA world is whether trans athletes should be allowed to play.<\/p>\n<p>Opposing views have been shared. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve and Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase spoke out in support of inclusivity. They\u2019ve been called out by various prominent figures, including Stephen A. Smith.<\/p>\n<p>And now former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom has decided to get involved, too. Except he\u2019s doing it in a much more direct manner than anyone else. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1356014064-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Brooklyn Nets v Boston Celtics\" \/>Photo by Maddie Malhotra\/Getty ImagesEnes Kanter Freedom says he\u2019s eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft based on current guidelines<\/p>\n<p>It seems like the W is going to have to deal with this issue on a policy level at this point. The former 11-year NBA player released a statement suggesting that he is declaring for 2027 WNBA Draft. <\/p>\n<p>In explaining his proclamation, the Turkish-American player suggested that he is entirely eligible for the draft process based on the current guidelines. This has naturally caused quite a stir. <\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines,<br \/>I\u2019m officially declaring myself a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">@WNBA<\/a> prospect.<\/p>\n<p>If simply declaring who you are is all that\u2019s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.<\/p>\n<p>My team and I have\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/msncUZUT1J\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/msncUZUT1J<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EnesFreedom\/status\/2085772139869696032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">August 7, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>View Tweet<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I\u2019m officially declaring myself a WNBA prospect,\u201d Freedom wrote on X. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf simply declaring who you are is all that\u2019s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.<\/p>\n<p>MORE SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM STORIES<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy team and I have carefully examined the WNBA\u2019s eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion. <\/p>\n<p>        The NFL&#8217;s highest-paid running back is guaranteed less than Dillon Brooks \u2014 has NBA money lost touch with reality? \ud83e\udd14 <\/p>\n<p class=\"grv-talking-point__subtitle\">Brooks: three years, $73m, all guaranteed. Bijan Robinson: record $51m guaranteed\u2026<\/p>\n<p>     <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/image-1080x1350.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/>   <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is a radical move, but one that might have been expected considering how much attention the debate is now garnering. For the WNBA, how they deal with this is yet to be seen, but will set an extremely important example. <\/p>\n<p>Join Our Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox<\/p>\n<p>   <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us on Google Discover The conversation surrounding transgender athletes in sports is heating up again. It has&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,295803,10879,82,630],"class_list":["post-850412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-enes-kanter-freedom","tag-sophie-cunningham","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=850412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}