WNBA makes clear Enes Kanter stance after NBA player claimed to be joining women's league originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It's been a few months since Enes Kanter Freedom made headlines for being ejected from a WNBA game during his public arguments to be able to join the league.
Freedom has been at the center of WNBA controversy throughout the season, from his ejection during a Chicago Sky game, to a lawsuit afterward alleging his rights were violated.
Both Freedom and another former NBA player, Royce White, have said they declared for the WNBA Draft. But recently, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed their eligibility in the most direct manner yet.
Here's what Engelbert said about Freedom and White's WNBA eligibility in a recent letter to Congress.
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WNBA makes clear Enes Kanter stance in letter to Congress
Earlier in the WNBA season, Freedom and White announced plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft while saying they identify as women. The WNBA later released a statement that declared that the players "will not be used as political pawns."
In September, an inquiry from Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., and four other House Republicans about WNBA eligibility, player safety and confrontations with fans was sent to Engelbert, according to Outkick. The lawmakers questioned how the league defines "women" under Article XIII, Section 1(a) of its collective bargaining agreement and why Freedom and White would be declared ineligible.
As of Tuesday, Engelbert has reportedly responded to those lawmakers, saying Freedom and White are ineligible because they are "both men."
"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 in a letter dated on Oct. 16, per Outkick.
In response, Stutzman said that the WNBA "has just taken the first step in defining what a woman is for the sports community," while Freedom said Engelbert "cannot clearly define what a woman is, but she's absolutely certain that I'm a man," and that "the WNBA needs to explain where it draws the line."
In a social media post, Freedom also revealed the full letter from Engelbert, where she also addressed fouls and "overly physical plays" along with the fan Code of Conduct.
🚨 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF AMERICA, THE MOMENT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! The @WNBA has officially responded! IS THE #WNBA TRANSPHOBIC? Apparently, the WNBA still can’t define what a WOMAN is, but they’re absolutely certain they know what a MAN is! How convenient! WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has declared that I am a man. Who gave her the authority to decide who I am? Who gets to define my identity? And how can the WNBA determine who is a man without explaining what qualifies someone as a woman? Is the WNBA denying people the right to define their own gender identity? You can’t have it both ways! America, read this letter for yourselves. THE WNBA HAS SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) October 20, 2026
Freedom and White shared their intentions to declare for the WNBA draft in the summer, after Fever guard Sophie Cunningham spoke publicly about transgender athletes in women's sports. Afterward, the WNBA released a statement following protests by fans outside of games.
“We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion,” the statement said. “Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change. Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.”
Freedom has also announced intentions of attending WNBA Finals Game 3 in Atlanta, per The Athletic. He was ejected from the Sky's arena, then banned, after getting into a heated exchange with Natasha Cloud during a game earlier this season.
MORE: Why Enes Kanter Freedom was banned from Chicago WNBA arena