Enes Freedom’s decision to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft has turned an already heated and contentious debate into an even bigger question for the league.
What started with Sophie Cunningham’s comments about transgender athletes has now reached a point where the WNBA may have to explain exactly how its eligibility rules would apply in an unprecedented situation.
Freedom insists his move is about applying the rules equally. Critics, meanwhile, see it as a calculated challenge to the league’s position.
And now, one prominent political commentator believes the former New York Knicks center may have found a way to force the WNBA into answering a question it has largely avoided.
Enes Freedom’s WNBA Draft Bid Earns Clay Travis’ Praise as Sophie Cunningham-Fueled Debate Escalates
Cunningham’s position that women should be protected from playing against biological men has remained at the center of the controversy surrounding the WNBA. Coaches Cheryl Reeve, Natalie Nakase, and Stephanie White have pushed back against the idea that exclusion is the answer.
Freedom has not publicly aligned himself with either side of the debate. Instead, the former NBA veteran has put his own name into the conversation by declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
That move earned strong praise from OutKick founder Clay Travis.
“I think this is why the Enes Kanter decision was so brilliant. Because under the definition of ‘woman,’ as accepted by many different coaches and players, as soon as you say you are a woman, you are just as much of a woman as someone else who is a woman, who has been a woman her entire life. … This is lunacy!” Travis said.
🚨 JUST NOW: Clay Travis says the WNBA is getting CHECKMATED after former NBA players declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft
“If [Enes Kanter] is not a woman, then they’re going to have to acknowledge that in some way they CAN determine who a woman is!”
“They have to allow him to be… pic.twitter.com/aNqHjYr3b2
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 9, 2026
“The WNBA in this meeting, which is very simple to 95% of sane sports fans, probably, is gonna have to determine: Is Enes Kanter a woman? If he’s not a woman, then they’re gonna have to acknowledge some way they can determine who a woman is, or they’re going to have to allow him to be eligible to play in the WNBA. He is basically calling them out on the absurdity of their position and taking it to its logical conclusion.”
Freedom made a similar argument when he announced his intention to enter the league.
“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.”
The situation has become even more complicated with former NBA player Royce White also reportedly intending to pursue a place in the WNBA.
What initially looked like a one-off challenge could become a larger test of the league’s eligibility rules.
According to a memo Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent to teams, the WNBA plans to meet with team officials to discuss the transgender-athlete issue. That meeting could become particularly important if Freedom or White continue to pursue the draft and ask the league for a formal ruling.
Travis, meanwhile, was making headlines on the issue before the former NBA players entered the picture. After Valkyries coach Nakase pushed back against Cunningham’s position, Travis proposed an even more provocative scenario.
“I am not kidding about this. I am prepared to buy a @wnba expansion franchise and locate them in Nashville. I pledge to have a 100% trans team, all men who identify as women. I will also employ a 100% trans coaching staff. Most inclusive team in history!” Travis tweeted.
For now, Freedom’s WNBA draft declaration remains just that, a simple but shocking declaration. But if he follows through, the league could soon face a very public test of its own rules.
What began as a debate over Cunningham’s comments has evolved into a question the WNBA may no longer be able to leave unanswered: Who qualifies under its eligibility rules, and how will those rules be applied?
