WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has replied to a Republican congressman’s demand for the league to define its eligibility rules for what it means to be a “woman,” amid an ongoing debate about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Previously, a letter from Indiana House Rep. Marlin Stutzman and other Republicans pressed the commissioner for the definition, after the league ruled that ex-NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White were ineligible to enter the 2027 WNBA draft. The pair had announced plans to enter the draft while identifying as women.
“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 responded in a letter dated October 16, according to Fox News’ sports site OutKick.
The response, however, did not go into further detail on the league’s policy for transgender athletes.
The letter was provided to the outlet by America First Policy Institute (AFPI), which represents Freedom.
Speaking with the publication, Stutzman said he saw the response as “the first step in defining what a woman is for the sports community.”
“By clearly labeling Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White as men they have acknowledged that identifying as a woman does not change basic human biology,” added the politician.
Freedom, meanwhile, told the outlet that “Cathy Engelbert cannot clearly define what a woman is, but she’s absolutely certain that I’m a man. I mean, how does that make sense? Who gets to decide? Who has the authority to determine whether someone is a woman?”
Freedom also said he felt “100 percent” misgendered by Engelbert.
In the original letter from Republican lawmakers, they wrote, “As a women’s sports league, the WNBA must ensure the League remains exclusively for biological women.” It’s also Freedom’s goal, per OutKick, to push the WNBA to limit participation to biological women.
“As Sophie Cunningham has commented, women should not have to face biological men playing in the WNBA,” the letter added. “Opening eligibility to biological men would not only create an unfair advantage but would also risk player safety for the women playing in the WNBA.”
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, 30, has made it very clear she opposes transgender women competing in women’s sports.
In a July 2026 profile with ESPN, the athlete said, “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
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