Enes Kanter Freedom has been away from the NBA for more than four years, but on Friday, he unexpectedly found himself back in the middle of one of basketball’s biggest conversations. This time, it wasn’t because of a comeback attempt or a new team. It was because he announced that he was declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft.

The former Boston Celtics centre posted a long message on X and claimed that he studied the eligibility guidelines of the WNBA before making the decision to come out publicly. Freedom stated that he did not intend to offend or mock anyone. He added that he wanted to see whether the WNBA would consistently enforce its own rules, so his comments became the latest example of the controversy over transgender athletes in women’s sports.

“After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I’m officially declaring myself a @WNBA prospect,” Freedom wrote. Later in the post, he added, “I am definitely not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or personal choices. I’m simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone.”

Freedom said he and his team had carefully reviewed the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification before making the announcement. “If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” he wrote, adding that he was publicly declaring himself eligible for the April 2027 draft because he believed the league should apply its stated principles consistently.

Get the Essentially W Newsletter. Everyday front-court analysis and back-court drama — where the W takes center court.

He admitted that the move would spark strong reactions.

“I know my presence on the court will stir up strong opinions,” Freedom wrote before repeating that he was “not here to mock” anyone or disrespect personal choices. According to the former NBA center, the goal was simply to ask whether the same rules would be applied consistently to everyone.

On the other side, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) issued an official statement just 20 minutes after Enes Kanter Freedom spoke up:

“Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns,” the union mentioned in their statement shared on Instagram.

The WNBPA serves as the players’ union for the WNBA. It negotiates the league’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA), handles grievances, advises players on benefits, and supports off‑court career development and advocacy.

Now, Freedom has been voicing his opinion on political and social matters actively since he left the NBA. He has been posting on social media against different organizations or policies that he did not support. The site linked to his posting does not include any WNBA draft application or legal documents regarding his statements.

So can Enes Freedom actually enter the WNBA Draft?

That question quickly became the biggest point of discussion after Freedom’s post went viral.

But declaring for the draft on social media isn’t the same as officially entering it. Under the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, eligible players must complete the league’s formal declaration process and submit the required paperwork directly to the league office.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement also states that “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” while the league has not published a separate public policy detailing medical or hormonal requirements for transgender women.

There is also no indication that Freedom has submitted official draft paperwork to the league. The WNBA has not acknowledged receiving an application from him, while Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and league officials have not publicly commented on the announcement.

His announcement also didn’t happen in a vacuum. Over the past two weeks, transgender participation in women’s sports has become one of the biggest conversations around the WNBA. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham recently said her focus was on protecting fairness in women’s sports and locker rooms.

What led to this moment?

On July 21, ESPN published a wide-ranging profile of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham that included her views on transgender athletes in women’s sports. In it, Cunningham said she wanted to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.” She added that she had received criticism suggesting she “hates trans” people and said that was not what she meant.

The following day, Cunningham was asked about the remarks during a team shootaround in Indianapolis. She told reporters, “I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” and said she would continue to believe that protecting children, including girls in sports, was important.

Later that day, the Indiana Fever issued a statement saying, “Our players are thoughtful adults with their own perspectives and voices, and those views are their own,” and that the organization was “committed to welcoming fans from every background and treating everyone with respect.”

Those two days marked the beginning of a much larger conversation around the league. Within a week, pregame rallies tied to her remarks were held at Fever road games, other WNBA players and coaches began to weigh in, and the league and its players’ union were drawn into the debate.

The response to Cunningham’s words has been loud

Ahead of Indiana’s game in Seattle, on July 28, a coalition supporting restrictions on transgender participation in girls’ sports held a rally outside Climate Pledge Arena. Organizers said the demonstration was timed in part to promote a Washington state ballot measure on the topic.

During the game, two teenage fans wearing shirts backing Cunningham’s position said they were approached by Seattle Storm minority co-owner Celeste Keaton. According to reports, Keaton confronted the fans and used strong language toward them. The WNBA later announced that Keaton had been suspended for five home games and that the Storm organization had been fined.

The Fever’s next road stop brought similar scenes to Portland. On July 31, pro- and counter-demonstrations gathered outside the Moda Center before Indiana played the Portland Fire. Cunningham said she had no role in organizing the rallies and described them as fans exercising free speech.

By Aug 2, the pattern had repeated in Minneapolis. A rally was held outside Target Center before the Fever’s game against the Minnesota Lynx. On the Lynx sideline, head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt under her blazer, a visible signal of support for inclusion that was widely interpreted as a response to Cunningham’s stance. Meanwhile, Golden State Valkyries guard Gabby Williams said she “would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team any time.”

Additionally, Natalie Nakase, the first Asian-American head coach in the WNBA, has drawn on her own experiences with discrimination to explain why she supports trans athletes.

“I think just in terms of how I’m seeing it is, if I can answer, for me sports is about belonging. It’s about inclusivity. It’s about allowing everyone to be their authentic self,” she said during a pre-game press conference on August 2.

“I’m big on that because I have been criticized for my height, for my ethnicity. I’ve been in those ‘you shouldn’t belong here,’ [moments] and for me I don’t want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that. I’m all about women, little girls deserving to play, and that includes trans women. So I’m all about inclusivity.”

Freedom’s announcement arrived just a day after Williams’ comments, adding another voice to a debate that has continued to divide opinions across the basketball community.

The sports community’s reaction to Enes Freedom

The discussion grew even bigger after political commentator Benny Johnson shared Freedom’s post and claimed the America First Policy Institute would represent him if the WNBA rejected his bid. There has also been no official announcement from the America First Policy Institute confirming it would represent Freedom.

There is also no evidence that the WNBA has ever issued an official statement saying it would welcome “biological males” into the league. Instead, the claim appears to stem from a misrepresentation of Gabby Williams’ personal comments rather than any official league position.

On the other hand, Riley Gaines, a former NCAA All-American swimmer and contributor to Outkick, has become one of the most visible voices aligned with Sophie Cunningham in the debate over transgender participation in women’s sports.

“Genius. Perfect. Waiting to see which WNBA team recruits Enes Freedom,” Gaines wrote on X.

Gaines has described the issue as a question of fairness and safety for women and girls in sports. She has argued that policies allowing transgender women to compete in women’s categories can affect opportunities for cisgender female athletes and has said that “inclusion” rhetoric can sometimes lead to the “exclusion” of other women.

She has also questioned how the WNBA handles messaging around the topic. Gaines said the league was quick to promote inclusion-focused content while also asking her to put down a sign thanking Cunningham, which she described as a double standard.

For now, Freedom’s declaration remains exactly that: a public statement on social media. No official draft paperwork has been filed, the WNBA has not responded publicly, and there is no indication that the league has taken any administrative action. Whether that changes in the coming months remains to be seen, but Freedom has already succeeded in putting himself back at the center of one of basketball’s most closely watched discussions.