The WNBA just got one step closer to admitting what a woman is.
However, the league isn't quite there yet, and its latest response to a congressional inquiry still leaves the water more muddy than clear.
'This is their clear acknowledgment ...'
Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) sent the WNBA a letter in September asking the league to answer some key questions about how the league is being governed.
Stutzman didn't exactly present the WNBA with any difficult questions, but the league still had trouble providing a clear answer.
In addition to queries about player safety, the letter asked how the league defines a "woman" and, if it doesn't have a definition, why it was preventing former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White from entering the WNBA draft.
More than a month later, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has finally responded to the congressman and the House Republican Study Committee.
Stutzman posted the response on his X page, showing that while Engelbert provided the most clear answer from the league to date, she still won't provide a definition of what a woman is.
"With respect to your questions regarding eligibility, only women are eligible to play the WNBA," Engelbert wrote.
She added, "The individuals you cite in your letter are both men."
🚨🚨In a reply to my letter to the WNBA about @Enesfreedom and @Highway_30’s eligibility, the @WNBA declared they are “both men”.
This is their clear acknowledgment that simply identifying as a woman does not change basic human biology! https://t.co/aZ6oPabcyR pic.twitter.com/NLALHBDodO
— Rep. Marlin Stutzman (@RepStutzman) October 20, 2026
Rep. Stutzman declared victory over the response, writing, "This is their clear acknowledgment that simply identifying as a woman does not change basic human biology!"
However, the commissioner's statement that "only women are eligible" is in line with pre-existing WNBA rules set out by the league's latest collective bargaining agreement.
Article XIII, Section 1 of the WNBA's 2026 agreement says that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA," but does not provide a definition of the term. The league has not responded to multiple inquiries from Blaze News about what it considers a woman to be.
League officials even met in August to discuss the topic, but made no determination by the end of their meeting:
"There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others," the WNBA declared.
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The two former NBA players declared themselves eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft on the simple basis that the league has not defined what a woman is.
While Freedom, a 6'10" former NBA center, did not declare himself to be transgender, White, a former NBA guard, outright declared himself to be a woman.
"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," he said in August.
Thrown into the mix was Julie Tétart, a man who seemingly believes he is a woman and plays professional women's basketball in France. The athlete dominated France's Ligue 2 for the 2025-2026 season, blowing competitors out of the water with over 20 points and 20 rebounds per game.
Tétart said if the WNBA contacted him, he wouldn't turn the league down.
"If they contact me, I won't say no."
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