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FRISCO, TEXAS – JULY 24: Royce White #30 of the Power shoots against the Aliens during BIG3 Week Six at Comerica Center on July 24, 2022 in Frisco, Texas. (Cooper Neill\/Getty Images for BIG3)<\/p>\n
Asked whether Engelbert\u2019s letter had officially triggered a previously discussed discrimination lawsuit, White said he could not discuss particulars. He did not announce a filing or provide a timetable for taking legal action.<\/p>\n
The dispute centers on White\u2019s and Freedom\u2019s efforts to enter the 2027 WNBA draft<\/a> after declaring that they identify as women. During the interview, White agreed when asked whether his declaration was “for basketball purposes.”<\/p>\n In an Oct. 16 letter responding to Republican lawmakers, Engelbert stated the league\u2019s position directly.<\/p>\n “With respect to your questions regarding eligibility, only women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men,” Engelbert wrote.<\/p>\n THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW\u2013UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!<\/a><\/p>\n The response followed a Sept. 17 inquiry from Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., and four Republican colleagues asking how the WNBA defines “women” under its collective bargaining agreement and why White and Freedom had been deemed ineligible. The lawmakers requested answers by Oct. 16.<\/p>\n The agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but does not specify language concerning gender identity or sex assigned at birth, Front Office Sports reported in August.<\/p>\n Engelbert\u2019s response did not supply a definition of “women” or explain the criteria used to classify White and Freedom as men.<\/p>\n White said that distinction remains central to his challenge.<\/p>\n “No, we\u2019re not letting them off that easy,” he said when asked whether Engelbert\u2019s statement represented a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n “She has to define, and the WNBA has to define, what a man and a woman is and why.”<\/p>\n White also called for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver<\/a> to address the dispute.<\/p>\n ENES FREEDOM RIPS CHERYL REEVE FOR SAYING WOMEN’S SPORTS ADVOCATES ‘DON\u2019T WANT TRANSGENDER PEOPLE TO EXIST’<\/a><\/p>\n “I\u2019d like Adam Silver and the NBA to weigh in,” he said.<\/p>\n The league had already rejected the two former NBA players\u2019 eligibility<\/a> through statements attributed to league sources in August.<\/p>\n
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