Enes Kanter Freedom has spent the past several days turning his proposed entry into the WNBA Draft into a broader debate. A challenge aimed at the league’s rules. Now, the former NBA center has identified what he says could bring the entire campaign to a halt.
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In a recent conversation with Fox News reporter Jackson Thompson, Freedom pointed to one specific section of the WNBA’s governing rules while explaining what could stop him from declaring for the 2027 draft.
Enes Kanter’s answer was simple.
Thompson asked him directly what it would take to change his mind. Freedom said, “What will stop me? I think just add a simple word. Article 13, Section 1. All you have to do is just add the word biological, and then the case will be closed.”
The comment marked the latest escalation in Enes Kanter Freedom’s public campaign surrounding the WNBA Draft. Rather than simply repeating his intention to declare, he framed his position around what he sees as a gap in the league’s eligibility language. According to Freedom, changing that wording would remove his reason for pursuing the issue altogether.
He also claimed that he has spoken with several other basketball players who could potentially follow his lead.
“I’ve spoken with three European players, three G League players and two former NBA players,” Enes Kanter said. “They have all said that if they don’t change the rules, they are ready to put their name on the 2027 WNBA.”
Freedom argued that money could become a major incentive for players outside the NBA. He pointed to the salaries of some G League players and contrasted them with the earning potential of top WNBA players.
The former NBA center’s argument, however, goes beyond his own proposed draft declaration. He suggested that if the league’s rules remain unchanged, other male basketball players could attempt to use the same eligibility language to enter the draft.
Thompson pushed Enes Kanter Freedom on whether that possibility concerned him, particularly if other players took the idea beyond the symbolic protest he claims to be making.
Freedom insisted that he does not view the campaign as an attack on transgender people or the LGBTQ community.
“I’m not anti-trans, I’m not anti-LGBTQ,” Freedom said. “I’m just pro-woman.”
He then placed responsibility for any future attempts squarely on the WNBA. Freedom argued that players would be acting within the rules as they currently understand them.
Meanwhile, he blamed commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the league’s leadership for failing to change the language.
“If whoever out there, right, a G League or a European or former NBA player comes out and puts a wig on and makes fun of a certain group, it’s not their fault,” Freedom said. “It’s the WNBA’s fault for allowing them to make fun of certain groups.”
Enes Kanter’s WNBA campaign takes another turn
The interview arrives shortly after Freedom’s confrontation with the WNBA. It happened during the game between the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever at Wintrust Arena.
His appearance at the game and subsequent removal became another major part of his campaign after he had already publicly announced his intent to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
Following that, the management indefinitely banned him from visiting all Sky home games following his altercation with Natasha Cloud.
Freedom’s message has remained consistent since then. He wants the league to clarify its eligibility rules.
That’s why his reference to Article 13, Section 1 matters. For Enes Kanter, the proposed change is not being presented as a negotiation over his own basketball future. He has instead positioned it as a challenge to the league to define its eligibility standards more explicitly.
Thompson underlined the stakes during their conversation by directly addressing Engelbert. He described Freedom as a seven-foot former NBA player who says he knows other financially motivated players interested in following him.
The WNBA can ignore his campaign.
It can dispute his interpretation of the rules or continue to treat his proposed draft declaration as a publicly driven stunt. But Enes Kanter has now publicly established the condition under which he says he would walk away.
For now, that condition comes down to a single word.