With former NBA players Royce White and Enes Kanter Freedom announcing their plans to ‘declare’ for the 2027 WNBA Draft, the league’s player eligibility regulations have become the focal point of a fresh issue over transgender athletes in women’s sports. Former NBA first-round selection White revealed to Fox News Digital on Friday that he intended to enter the WNBA Draft while identifying as transgender. He made his announcement just hours after another former NBA player, Kanter Freedom, made a similar statement.

It is important to note that the announcements do not guarantee a spot in the draft or indicate that any former NBA player has joined the WNBA. Neither man has been declared eligible to play by the league.

White claimed that a few days before Kanter Freedom’s statement, he had declared his plan to play in the WNBA. White declared he was transgender and planned to play in the WNBA in a post on X on August 4. Freedom declared his intention to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft on Friday. He said that he and his team had studied the league’s self-identification and inclusion policies as well as its eligibility regulations.

The wording of the WNBA’s 2026 collective bargaining agreement is at the heart of the dispute. “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” according to Article XIII. However, according to the Fox News story, the 409-page agreement does not explicitly define “women” or create a comprehensive policy that addresses transgender or intersex eligibility.

Furthermore, it does not say that eligibility is automatically established by self-identification alone. Therefore, White and Freedom’s announcements do not prove that they are eligible for the league on their own. How the WNBA would determine if either former NBA player would be eligible has not been made public.

Unless the league specifically specifies a rule prohibiting men from playing in the women’s league, White stated he will seek the opportunity. In addition, he framed a possible rejection as a discrimination issue and said he could take legal action if he was not drafted or signed. White, who weighs over 260 pounds and stands 6 feet 8 inches tall, also claimed that his bulk would give him an edge in the WNBA. He stated that if he was selected, he would like to play for the Minnesota Lynx and use the women’s locker room.

Without establishing eligibility guidelines, the WNBA Players Association addressed the broader matter on Friday. The union stated that it is against the persecution or demonisation of transgender individuals and that it supports “justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.”