Enes Kanter Freedom Sends Stark Warning To WNBA After Declaring For The 2027 Draft
Aug 23, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Turkish-American former basketball player and human rights activist Enes Kanter Freedom reacts as he is removed from the arena during the second half against the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Enes Kanter Freedom has thrown himself into the discourse of WNBA eligibility ever since Sophie Cunningham’s remarks on the issue went viral. In an attempt to criticize the league for not making it clear how it would assess the eligibility of participating women, the former NBA player has even officially declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft. Now, in a recent interview, Freedom said that he was “prepared” to play in the WNBA.
On August 22, 2026, Freedom appeared on Fox News Channel’s My View with Lara Trump and said, “I think I will be the best draft pick in WNBA history, literally.”
Freedom said that after looking at Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve’s “support trans kids” shirt and Golden State Valkyries player Gabby Williams’ advocacy for transgender athletes, he took on the issue more seriously.
“So, there’s (sic) other major sports that obviously closed that loophole. They added ‘biological female’ or ‘born female’ in their collective bargaining. But when I look at them, the WNBA, they didn’t have (any) kind of, you know, reference to biological (sic) or anything like that,” Freedom noted.
Citing Reeve and Williams, the self-proclaimed human rights activist added, “And all the coaches, I was watching this, and I believe the coach of Minnesota came out with a ‘trans kids belong’ (shirt), so I was like, if no one’s against it and all the coaches are OK with it, think about how much money I can bring, think about all the endorsement deals.”
After meeting to review the issue of transgender athletes, league executives released a statement. They called out “bad-faith” efforts to weaken the WNBA and also criticized the media for supposedly sowing discord in the sport.
During his Saturday interview, Freedom warned the league, saying, “The WNBA has no idea what they’re about to face.”
He added, “They’re still trying to figure out what a woman is. So, let’s see if they can figure that out. So, let’s see what kind of rules that (sic) they’re gonna come up with.”
JUST IN: Enes Kanter Freedom just dropped this line on the WNBA — define the word “woman” based on biology, or HE’S PLAYING
“I think I will be the BEST draft pick in WNBA history!”
“The coach had a trans kids shirt. Think about how much money and endorsement deals I can… pic.twitter.com/iUMGIXQoTs
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 23, 2026
Freedom also praised Cunningham for speaking up for the safety of women’s sports. In an interview with ESPN, the Indiana Fever guard had noted, “I want to protect young girls in a locker room or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
Cunningham’s statements sort of kicked off the whole debate around transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports, especially the WNBA, which currently has none.
Freedom spoke to Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law about the ensuing issue and explained why the WNBA needs more players like Cunningham.
Calling Cunningham an “American hero,” Freedom said, “I believe that the parents need to stand up for their children. If I was (sic) a parent, I wouldn’t want my kid to be in the same locker room, same showers, or same bathroom where it’s biological male… This shouldn’t even be like a right or left issue. This should just be common sense. We need more people like Sophie Cunningham to come out and stand for what they believe in.”
Over time, the discussion around the WNBA’s eligibility criteria has grown. Several right-wing activists, like Jennifer Sey and Riley Gaines, have come out in support of Cunningham and praised her for advocating for women’s rights in sports.
Meanwhile, the Fever guard has had minimal backing from other players in the league, which might be what Freedom was referring to. There are currently no transgender athletes playing in the WNBA. But Royce White and Freedom’s declaration have turned over a new leaf in the league’s history.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert stated during a recent task force meeting that there has been no change in the process as of now. Only a day after his interview with Lara Trump, Freedom was thrown out of a WNBA game after a verbal clash with Chicago Sky guard Natasha Cloud,