Two Ex-NBA Players Declare for the WNBA Draft. Now League Will Meet to Determine Trans Eligibility

After two male basketball players publicly declared that they will identify as women only to qualify for the WNBA draft, the women’s professional sports league will soon hold meetings to clarify its language about gender eligibility. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a note to teams on Friday, August 7, saying that officials would soon meet to clarify eligibility for trans players. “I know many of you have received questions in recent weeks regarding transgender athlete participation in women's basketball, and I expect this topic will continue to receive significant attention,” Engelbert said in the memo, which was obtained by ESPN. “I wanted to reach out to share how we are approaching these conversations at the league office and to thank those of you who have responded to questions from the media with thoughtfulness and professionalism.”A task force of team presidents and general managers, which was already set to meet this week, will now add the question of eligibility by gender to their agenda. Currently, the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement does not have any language regarding trans players and states, “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” per The Athletic. Engelbert’s announcement came after two former professional basketballers, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, declared that they plan to declare for the WNBA draft. Neither Freedom nor White has previously made any statements about being trans and have both expressly stated that they are doing this to exploit vague language in the WNBA’s policy.“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” Freedom wrote on X. “Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027.” Freedom added that he is “definitely not here to mock, make fun of or disrespect any community or personal choices.” The Wom