Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom generated significant attention on Friday after posting a video online in which he declared his interest in participating in the WNBA as a transgender athlete. This announcement followed intense ongoing debates regarding the women's league's policies concerning trans athletes. The former Boston Celtics center stated that he had reviewed the league's current eligibility guidelines and was officially declaring himself a WNBA prospect.
In his announcement, Freedom emphasized that he and his team had carefully examined the WNBA’s governing framework related to self-identification and inclusion. He stated that he is simply requesting the current rules be applied equally to everyone, noting that these regulations represent the same values that many WNBA players and coaches have publicly advocated for in the past.
The declaration drew reactions from various figures, including former NBA player Andrew Bogut, who offered his support to Freedom on X, writing, "Good luck @EnesFreedom in your new journey." Bogut, a one-time NBA champion who played for the Golden State Warriors, has been a vocal critic of including trans athletes in women’s sports. In 2023, he expressed public disappointment when Lexi Rodgers, a transgender athlete, applied to join the NBL1 South Women’s league with the Kilsyth Cobras. Although that application was rejected, Bogut used the incident to question the inclusion of biological males in women's sports.
Clay Travis, the founder of Outkick, also joined the discussion surrounding Freedom's announcement. Travis, who has previously voiced interest in forming a WNBA expansion team with a roster primarily composed of trans athletes, praised the move as a strategic challenge. He argued that the announcement places the WNBA in a difficult position, suggesting the league must now choose between denying his identity, admitting men into the league, or explicitly stating that only those born female are eligible. Travis suggested that if the league denies Freedom, he could potentially sue, forcing the WNBA to establish a clear female-only criteria.
(Which means they know what a woman is.) 2.
