WNBPA Refuses to Become “Politic Pawns” in Response to Enes Kanter Freedom’s WNBA Proposal
· Yahoo Sports
In the midst of public discussion about transgender athletes joining the WNBA, former NBA player Enes Kanter has made headlines by announcing he will declare for the league’s 2027 draft.
The announcement is seemingly an attempt to test the WNBA’s resolve on the issue, seeing as establishing rules regarding who is and who isn’t accepted in the league is difficult if transgender athletes are to be allowed.
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The WNBPA immediately pushed back against the statement made by Kanter, denouncing it as an attempt to derail the discussion and to curtail transgender rights:
“To everyone who loves this game: The WNBPA represents 200+ individual people with different lived experiences, cultures, lifestyles, and opinions. We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change. Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.”
These comments come a few weeks after Sophie Cunningham first opened the discussion, after sharing her opinion in an interview with ESPN that transgender athletes shouldn’t be allowed into women’s sports.
The statement by the Indiana Fever guard sparked a discussion that doesn’t seem to be ending yet. The comments by Enes Kanter poured fuel into the fire. They have now been followed by former NBA player Royce White, who is doing the same.
What did Enes Kanter say?
On social media this Friday, former NBA player Enes Kanter made a surprising announcement:
“After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines,
I’m officially declaring myself a prospect. If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.”
“My team and I have carefully examined the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion. Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027.”
He also stated his only desire was for the rules of eligibility for the WNBA to be applied equally to everyone and that his interest wasn’t to mock or ridicule anyone.
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