The focus has well and truly shifted away from basketball onto a raging debate off the court. After Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s crystal-clear stance on trans athletes ignited a debate that went national, that debate has now devolved into something else altogether after former New York Knicks and Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter announced that he was declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
As news of Kanter’s declaration spread far and wide, WNBPA treasurer Brianna Turner decided to say her piece.
WNBPA’s Brianna Turner Draws a Line in the Sand Over Sophie Cunningham-Fueled Debate
Las Vegas Aces’ Brianna Turner decided enough was enough after Royce White, another former NBA player, chose to follow in Kanter’s footsteps by announcing his intention to declare for next year’s WNBA draft.
Turner took to social media platform X to outline her thoughts, calling out the direction the debate was trending in.
“During my career, the narratives have gone from “get in the kitchen” to “no one cares” to “you don’t deserve etc” to “the jealous vets” to “a certain demographic of players are targeting another demographic of players” to “we just want to protect women”; it’s truly exhausting,” Turner wrote.
During my career the narratives have gone from “get in the kitchen” to “no one cares” to “you don’t deserve etc” to “the jealous vets” to “a certain demographic of players are targeting another demographic of players” to “we just want to protect women” it’s truly exhausting tbh
— Brianna Turner (@_Breezy_Briii) August 7, 2026
Kanter’s decision to “declare” for the 2027 WNBA Draft certainly did its part in fueling even more debate around the subject of trans athletes participating in women’s sports.
“I know my presence on the court will stir up strong opinions. I am definitely not here to mock, make fun of, or disrespect any community or personal choices,” Freedom said in a video.
“I’m simply asking that the current rules be applied equally to everyone, the rules that represent the very values many WNBA players and coaches have publicly advocated for.”
On X, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote that “the absurdity is self-explanatory,” urging people to come together to protect women’s sports. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert went as far as to put some cold, hard cash down on Kanter’s WNBA prospects.
I’m opposed to Congressional stock trading. However, I’m not opposed to Congressional sports betting.
$1000 says Enes’s team wins the championship!! https://t.co/9QTYnXiest
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) August 7, 2026
“I’m opposed to Congressional stock trading. However, I’m not opposed to Congressional sports betting. $1,000 says Enes’s team wins the championship!!” she wrote.
Article 13, Section 1 of the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” which means despite his very public intention to dial up the noise around the controversy, Kanter will be ineligible to play in the WNBA.
