Ever since the transgender athlete debate started gaining attention in the WNBA, political commentator Riley Gaines has been quite active in the conversation. From encouraging her followers to buy XX-XY clothing to praising Enes Kanter Freedom for his actions around the league, Gaines has repeatedly used her social media to comment on the issue.
Now, on the morning of August 26, Gaines once again hailed Kanter Freedom, this time after he appeared in a recent Fox News interview discussing his claim that he is eligible to play in the WNBA.
Riley Gaines’ Recent Comment Regarding Enes Kanter Freedom
Gaines shared a snippet of the interview on X, captioning the post, “Enes just exposed the whole WNBA in 60 seconds.”
In the video, she praised Kanter Freedom for what she believes is his ability to put pressure on the league and “force the WNBA’s hand” amid the ongoing debate over transgender athletes.
“Freedom is clearly trying to make a point, right? Pretend I’m some of y’all, and this is the point. The point is going right over some of y’all’s heads. All while he’s like rage-baiting you. I’m glad he’s doing this because he’s forcing the WNBA’s hand, but I will say it’s tragic that this has to be done. Everything but basketball is the leading conversation when we’re talking about the WNBA. We’re talking about green [expletive] toys. We’re talking about a trans non-binary turtle mascot who likes soft shell tacos. And of course, how they don’t know what the W in WNBA stands for.”
“And that’s a disservice to all of the incredible female basketball players playing in the league who have worked their entire lives to be able to do just that. Now their skill set and their ability and their incredible talent are being overshadowed by Enes. And that’s not Enes’ fault. That’s the WNBA’s fault. All of this would be over if they came out and said, okay, we now, like kindergartners, know what a woman is. But I’m not holding my breath,” Gaines said in the video.
Enes just exposed the whole WNBA in 60 seconds 😭 pic.twitter.com/GQQlCdU962
— The Riley Gaines Show (@RileyGainesShow) August 26, 2026
On Monday, Front Office Sports reported that league sources said neither Kanter Freedom nor Royce White is actually eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
According to that report, sources called their declarations “simply publicity stunts.” At the same time, the WNBA still hasn’t laid out any clear, public eligibility rules for transgender athletes, which is part of why this keeps turning into a back-and-forth instead of getting settled.
Kanter Freedom’s name has been all over headlines lately for another reason too. During Sunday’s Fever-Sky game in Chicago, he got into it with Sky guard Natasha Cloud, who began pointing and yelling at him during a timeout, triggering him to stand up and walk toward the court with his arms outstretched.
Security and officials stepped in to separate them, and he was ultimately ejected and escorted out by team and arena security. He’d shown up that night wearing a black shirt reading “WOMAN noun. adult human female,” which only added fuel to the moment.
Gaines later called the image of him with his arms outstretched the “perfect visual” for why she and others object to trans athletes in women’s sports. Cloud, for her part, didn’t speak to the media afterward but posted a message of support for the trans community on social media.
“To every trans kid/person, you are a part of my community & tribe. You belong. You’re loved. You’re seen. You’re perfect as you are. & you will always be protected by me,” Cloud wrote on Threads.
The WNBA still hasn’t put out an official, detailed policy on transgender athlete eligibility, and until it does, moments like this one are just going to keep happening.
