“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense.” Sophie Cunningham made that statement after being questioned about her comments on transgender athletes in women’s sports. The Indiana Fever guard had said she wanted to protect young girls in the locker rooms.
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom entered the conversation unexpectedly after declaring his intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft while identifying himself as a female. Now, the former NBA player has made it clear that he is also paying close attention to Cunningham.
Enes Kanter Freedom’s Recent Comment Regarding Sophie Cunningham
During a recent interview with Bruce Pearl of the “American First Policy Institute,” Kanter Freedom described Cunningham as a “role model.”
“I’m a big fan of [Sophie Cunningham]. Especially when she posted that thing. When she said, ‘I said what I said,’ I was like, ‘This is the player I wanna be like one day… She’s becoming a role model off the court as well… She’s actually pushing people to think,” Kanter Freedom said during the interview.
Kanter Freedom did not stop there. He also said he hoped he would eventually be drafted by the Indiana Fever, which would put him in the same locker room as Cunningham and Caitlin Clark.
Pearl then jumped in with a blunt prediction, suggesting that Clark would not be eager to pass the ball to Kanter.
The 34-year-old former NBA player did not seem concerned by that possibility. Instead, he imagined that he and Clark could develop into an unlikely star duo, comparing the potential partnership to the famous Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant pairing.
“Me and Caitlin will be modern Kobe and Shaq. I’m just thinking about this scenario. We’re going down a lane and Caitlin just throwing a lob. I caught the lob, and I’m just dunking the ball, and then me and Caitlin just bumping chest to each other, which I am allowed to do because I’m now a woman,” Kanter Freedom added.
The WNBA’s current collective bargaining agreement says that only women are eligible to play, but it does not provide detailed language specifically addressing transgender eligibility.
The WNBA and the players’ association are expected to continue discussing the CBA, and that process could provide an opportunity to make the language more specific. Any new wording could eventually clarify the circumstances under which a transgender athlete could be eligible.
For now, however, the league’s broader position is clearer than the exact future rules. With Kanter Freedom and Royce White both making 2027 draft declarations, the question is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
