SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 23: Royce White #35 of the Sacramento Kings handles the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 23, 2014 at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 23: Royce White #35 of the Sacramento Kings handles the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks on March 23, 2014 at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
The WNBA’s liberal eligibility rules have become the subject of public scrutiny recently. Former NBA player Royce White has joined Enes Kanter Freedom to become the second NBA player to declare for the WNBA Draft in the last 48 hours.
White took to social media in what clearly sounds like an attack on the WNBA’s eligibility rules, and made the shocking announcement.
“As I stated a few days ago, I am declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft. I identify as a sometimes-identifying transgender woman! My wig is in the mail,” wrote White on X before he also recorded a video to make the announcement official.
“Earlier this week, I made the announcement. I’m transgender; I’m a woman. I identify as sometimes-identifying as a woman for the purposes of professional basketball, so I’ll be declaring for the WNBA Draft in 2027 as well,” White said in the video.
“I mean, I think I’d be unstoppable. But I’m a team-first guy, a pass-first kind of player. I do the little things. I led my team in all five stat categories at Iowa State University. So I do whatever the coach needs me to do; I do whatever the girls need me to do.”
“I think the WNBA needs to make a definitive statement about guys with a pair of balls playing in the women’s association. But hey, that would probably be too much, right?”
“And I don’t want to be discriminated against; I’m a young, black, and hopefully a United States senator that would like a fair chance to participate as a sometimes-identifying transgender woman athlete,” White concluded in his video.
Shortly afterwards, White once again went on social media and even addressed the critics of his announcement.
“I haven’t even been publicly trans for 72 hours, and I’m already getting so much hate. I just want to hoop with my girls in my feminine era! Why can’t y’all be happy for me? 💅🏽 Now that’s a transition! 💁🏽,” he wrote.
The WNBA’s CBA clearly states that only women can be a part of the league. Yet this subject became a topic of scrutiny when a trans athlete, Julie Tetart, responded to fans saying she should play in the WNBA by declaring her willingness to play if any team would like to sign her.
Royce White was a former NBA first-round pick in 2012 but struggled to make a mark in the league. He was drafted by the Rockets before they sent him to their G-League affiliate team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, where he was consequently traded to the 76ers, who waived him months later.
Subsequently, Royce White joined the Sacramento Kings on a 10-day contract, where he was immediately assigned to the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate. He only played three senior games in the NBA and did not contribute to the box score in any way. Yet, he feels he would dominate in the WNBA.
While it is unlikely that any WNBA team would draft either him or Freedom, this simply seems to be a protest against the WNBA’s liberal eligibility rules.
Nobody should anticipate that either of these players would become stars on a WNBA team next season. But they simply wish for a clearer definition to try to prevent a player like Tetart from arguably making a mockery of the league’s rules and competitive spirit.