Two former NBA players say they will enter WNBA draft, daring league to define ‘woman’

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Aug. 8, 2026 – Two former NBA first-round draft picks say they intend to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, challenging the women’s professional basketball league to explain whether identifying as female is enough to become eligible to play.

Royce White, a former Houston Rockets draft pick and current Republican candidate for US Senate in Minnesota, announced Friday that he plans to declare for the draft while identifying as a woman for professional basketball purposes.

“I’m transgender. I’m a woman. I identify as sometimes identifying as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I’ll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well,” White told Fox News Digital.

White said he is looking for a definitive answer from the league about whether biological males may compete in the WNBA.

“I’d like to know what the parameters are,” he said.

The announcement appears designed to pressure the WNBA into clarifying an eligibility policy that says only women may play in the league but does not publicly define the term.

The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement states: “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” It does not publicly spell out whether eligibility is determined by biological sex, gender identity, hormone levels or another standard.

White said he would continue pursuing the issue until the league expressly states that biological males cannot play. He has described himself on social media as a “sometimes identifying trans woman” and joked that his wig was “in the mail.”

The 6-foot-8 former player said he would be “unstoppable” in the women’s league, although he described himself as a team-first player. He expressed interest in playing for the Minnesota Lynx and said he would use the women’s locker room if admitted to the league.

White also suggested that he could pursue a discrimination lawsuit if he were denied participation under a policy that otherwise accepts gender self-identification.

White’s announcement came hours after former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom made a similar declaration.

“After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I’m officially declaring myself a prospect for the 2027 WNBA Draft,” Freedom said in a social-media video.

“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” he added.

Freedom said the announcement was not intended to mock transgender people, but to expose what he considers an unresolved conflict between gender-identity policies and fair competition in women’s sports.

White contends that he raised the idea on social media several days before Freedom’s announcement.

Both men had physical profiles that would be exceptional in the WNBA. Freedom, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound center, was selected third overall in the 2011 NBA Draft and played 11 seasons in the league. He appeared in 748 NBA games and averaged 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds.

White, now 35, was selected 16th overall by Houston in the 2012 NBA Draft after playing at Iowa State. His NBA career was limited to three appearances with the Sacramento Kings during the 2013-14 season. His career was complicated by an anxiety disorder and severe fear of flying, which conflicted with the NBA’s extensive travel schedule. He later played in the BIG3 basketball league.

White was the Minnesota Republican Party’s 2024 nominee against Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar. He is now on the ballot in Minnesota’s Aug. 11 Republican Senate primary, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State.

Neither man has been formally accepted into a WNBA draft pool, and declaring an intention through an interview or social-media post does not automatically make someone an eligible prospect. No biological male is known to have played in the WNBA, and the league has not confirmed that either White or Freedom would be eligible.

The announcements nevertheless prompted a response from WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who sent teams a memo Friday acknowledging that questions about transgender participation are receiving growing attention.

Engelbert said the league would continue discussions with a group of team executives and consult medical experts, legal advisers and other professional sports leagues, according to an Associated Press report.

The Women’s National Basketball Players Association issued its own statement declaring support for “justice, equity, diversity and inclusion,” while saying WNBA players would not be used as “political pawns.” The union condemned hatred and abuse but did not answer the central eligibility question raised by White and Freedom.

The dispute comes amid heightened debate inside the league after WNBA player Sophie Cunningham publicly argued that biological males should not compete in women’s sports or enter women’s locker rooms.

White and Freedom have now transformed that theoretical debate into a direct challenge: If identifying as a woman is sufficient, they argue, the league must consider their claims. If it is not sufficient, the WNBA must explain what standard distinguishes an eligible female player from an ineligible male applicant.