{"id":862147,"date":"2026-09-27T05:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T05:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/862147\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T05:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T05:56:13","slug":"enes-freedom-rips-cheryl-reeve-for-saying-womens-sports-advocates-dont-want-transgender-people-to-exist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/862147\/","title":{"rendered":"Enes Freedom rips Cheryl Reeve for saying women’s sports advocates ‘don\u2019t want transgender people to exist’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jackson Thompson Exposes the WNBA\u2019s Biggest Problem<\/a> <\/p>\n

OutKick Reporter Jackson Thompson joins Riley Gaines to break down what he\u2019s seeing inside the WNBA\u2019s biggest cultural moment. Riley and Jackson discuss Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, the Indiana Fever, WNBA fan energy, league growth, media gatekeeping, and whether the league is prepared for its expanding audience. They also discuss the ongoing debate over men in women\u2019s sports, questions around WNBA eligibility policies, Enes Kanter Freedom, Royce White, San Jose State volleyball, and how sports media has covered female athletes speaking out. Plus, Jackson shares what he\u2019s watching next as the WNBA postseason approaches and Team USA women\u2019s basketball prepares for international competition.<\/p>\n

Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom pushed back against Minnesota Lynx<\/a> coach Cheryl Reeve after she claimed the debate over transgender athletes is part of a broader effort by critics who “don\u2019t want transgender people to exist.”<\/p>\n

Freedom responded to Reeve in a social media post Saturday, rejecting her characterization of those advocating to keep biological males out of women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

“Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve should step down immediately. You can\u2019t lead women\u2019s basketball while refusing to stand up for women\u2019s sports. Can someone, for the love of God, please explain to her that: Protecting women\u2019s sports is not an attack on anyone\u2019s existence, nor does it erase a community. Coach, if you truly mean what you just said, then put your hypocrisy aside and prove it by drafting me in the 2027 WNBA<\/a> Draft,” Freedom wrote.<\/p>\n

LYNX COACH CHERYL REEVE VOICES SUPPORT FOR THE TRANS COMMUNITY AGAIN AFTER REGULAR SEASON FINALE VS FEVER<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Cheryl <\/p>\n

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a \u2018Trans Kids Belong\u2019 shirt as the Lynx faced Sophie Cunningham\u2019s Fever, adding new fuel to the WNBA\u2019s trans-athlete debate. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)<\/p>\n

Reeve made the remarks after the Lynx closed the regular season with an 86-66 victory over the Indiana Fever<\/a> at Target Center Thursday. The game was accompanied by competing demonstrations outside the arena over transgender participation in women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

“I think that\u2019s probably one of the more meaningful things that would mark the season for me,” Reeve said. “It\u2019s that the transgender community is one that deserves our support, and what is happening in the name of some issues of transgender in sports \u2014 it\u2019s really an attack on all transgender community. They don\u2019t want transgender people to exist.”<\/p>\n

Reeve said the reaction she received after wearing a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt during a nationally televised Aug. 2 game against Indiana made the gesture one of the most meaningful moments of her season.<\/p>\n

“The amount of communication of people who were affected by something as simple as wearing a T-shirt in support of them and helping them be seen \u2014 with the platform that we have in professional sports, it was a small gesture by me,” Reeve said. “It\u2019s something I believe in, obviously, wholeheartedly.”<\/p>\n

\"Enes <\/p>\n

Turkish-American former basketball player and human rights activist Enes Kanter Freedom is seen prior to a game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 23, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)<\/p>\n

“If I could have helped just one to feel differently about themselves, because for the transgender community this really is about life and death for them,” she continued. “The number of parents of transgender kids that I heard from and how it helped them and their families, it helped their child think differently about themselves and that there is someone in our position, like we have as a leader. To know that there are people out there that believe in them, that they belong.”<\/p>\n

The comments marked at least the fourth time Reeve addressed the transgender issue<\/a> during a WNBA media availability this season.<\/p>\n

WNBA COMMISSIONER CATHY ENGELBERT SENDS TRANS INCLUSION MEMO AFTER ENES FREEDOM, ROYCE WHITE ANNOUNCEMENTS<\/a><\/p>\n

Reeve initially spoke about it following Supreme Court rulings<\/a> that upheld state laws protecting women\u2019s and girls\u2019 sports. She later defended transgender participation before the Lynx\u2019s first home game against the Fever, saying that “every kid has a right to sports” while acknowledging that eligibility becomes more complicated after puberty.<\/p>\n

The four-time WNBA champion coach also spoke privately with Fever guard Sophie Cunningham<\/a> before their Aug. 2 matchup. Cunningham previously said she wanted to protect girls who should not have to compete against or share locker rooms with biological males, while emphasizing that she did not harbor hatred toward transgender people.<\/p>\n

“I think that I am here to extend love,” Cunningham said. “But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn\u2019t have to go against biological men.”<\/p>\n

Freedom inserted himself into the WNBA\u2019s transgender debate in August by announcing that he intended to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft under the name “Enisa Freedom.” He said the move was designed to test the league\u2019s eligibility standards, which state that only women may play in the WNBA but do not publicly define eligibility through biological sex.<\/p>\n

ENES KANTER FREEDOM OPENS UP ON CONFRONTATION WITH NATASHA CLOUD THAT LED TO EJECTION, WNBA PURSUIT<\/a><\/p>\n

The former NBA center has repeatedly maintained that he is raising the issue seriously and is not attempting to demean transgender people.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any group or anyone\u2019s personal decisions,” Freedom wrote in an earlier statement. “What I\u2019m trying to do is bigger than clicks or attention.”<\/p>\n

Freedom also publicly separated his campaign from the conduct of other former male basketball players who joined the WNBA draft effort, saying his goal had “never been publicity, political theater, cheap attention, or stunts.”<\/p>\n

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Former NBA player Royce White also responded to Reeve\u2019s latest remarks, but took a distinctly different approach from Freedom. While Freedom offered a direct rebuttal to Reeve\u2019s characterization of women\u2019s-sports advocates, White issued an overtly satirical statement promoting his female alter ego, “Roysha.”<\/p>\n

“I appreciate Coach Reeve\u2019s sentiment toward Transgenders,” White wrote. “In these increasingly polarized times, it appears a potential source of cultural common ground has emerged … Kweeen Roysha! Pay is the perfect blend of MAGA and mainstream. I think there\u2019s a real opportunity to create a bridge, because a lot of conservatives nationwide would like to see Roysha play in the WNBA. The Minnesota Lynx would be a perfect home as the new transgender capital of America.”<\/p>\n

The WNBA previously said there were no immediate transgender eligibility matters affecting the league and condemned what it called “bad-faith efforts” to demean or marginalize others. The league has never had a transgender woman play on a roster. Its collective bargaining agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA” but does not publicly provide a more detailed definition based on biological sex.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert<\/a> said during the season that the league would continue discussions with team leaders and the players\u2019 union while treating competitive integrity, fairness and inclusion as priorities.<\/p>\n

Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jackson Thompson Exposes the WNBA\u2019s Biggest Problem OutKick Reporter Jackson Thompson joins Riley Gaines to break down what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[1077,259870,99,434],"class_list":["post-862147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-minnesota-lynx","tag-outkick-sports","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}