What WNBA rulebook actually says about Enes Kanter Freedom, other men playing in women's basketball league

Enes Kanter Freedom is the latest athlete to push back on the suggestion that trans women should be allowed to play women's sports.

The NBA journeyman-turned-right wing activist announced that he was declaring for the 2027 WNBA Draft on Friday, claiming that he and his team found a loophole allowing for him to play in the women's league.

"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. "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."

Freedom's declaration had the sports world talking. Here's what you need to know about whether he actually can be considered eligible to play in the WNBA.

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Can Enes Kanter Freedom play in the WNBA?

Freedom's latest publicity stunt doesn't appear likely to land him in the WNBA.

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."

Article 34, Section 6 of the collective bargaining agreement vows to strike out discrimination. Through the edict, the league, its teams and the players union promised to not discriminate against or in favor of any player "because of religion, race, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status or activity or lack of activity."

The NBA's collective bargaining agreement features the same clause, outlined in Article 30, Section 5.

There has been just one transgender and nonbinary player in WNBA history: Layshia Clarendon, who played for the Fever, Dream, Sun, Liberty, Lynx and Sparks across her 12-year career.

Freedom, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, has made trans athletes the target of his scorn before. In 2023, he flirted with "putting on a wig, identifying as a woman" and attempting to embark on a WNBA career during a rant on X.

"Is that when the outrage will begin? Is that fair to all the women who spent their whole life chasing their goals? Where are all the Women Rights Activists and Feminists?!" Freedom said.

Freedom retired from the NBA in 2022 and has not played professional basketball since.

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WNBA gender eligibility rules

Article 13, Section 1 of the WNBA's CBA states “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA." The league doesn't have a public-facing policy regarding transgender athletes, making no specific reference to their eligibility in the CBA.

That's par for course in North American women's sports. Neither the NWSL nor the PWHL's CBAs contain specific references on gender eligibility or transgender participation. As is the case with the WNBA and NBA CBAs, NWSL and PWHL's agreements feature clauses that declare that the treatise will be applied "without discrimination."

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WNBA transgender player policy

The WNBA does not presently have a public-facing policy regarding the eligibility of trans athletes. The league's CBA, signed in March, contains no mention of transgender athletes' eligibility.

Proponents for a stricter policy often suggest that athletes should be subjected to "gender verification tests." Former NWSL defender Elizabeth Eddy requested for the league to implement a new process to determine eligibility. Eddy called on the NWSL to require only people born with ovaries to be eligible to play in an op-ed released in 2025. She also suggested the league test players via the SRY gene test, which was used at the World Athletics Championships last year.

Such tests can prove faulty and dehumanizing. Zambian soccer star Barbra Banda was left out of the 2022 African Cup of Nations after failing to meet the competition's gender rules due to elevated testosterone levels. Her test wasn't handled properly. She has continued to be subjected to anti-Black and transphobic abuse in the years since the results of her test went public, with transphobe J.K. Rowling calling her a man in a social media post in 2024. Both the NWSL and the Orlando Pride were forced to put out statements denouncing the language directed towards Banda during games.

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Are there transgender players in the WNBA?

Layshia Clarendon made history as the first active nonbinary and trans player to play in the WNBA. The 12-year veteran, who uses all pronouns, announced they were trans and nonbinary shortly after the end of the 2020 season.

A one-time All-Star in 2017, Clarendon averaged 7.6 points, 3.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds across his WNBA career. He became the first active WNBA player to undergo top surgery in 2021.

Clarendon retired from the WNBA in 2024.

“I want Trans people to know and see that we’ve always existed & no one can erase us!,’ Clarendon wrote on Instagram at the time of their operation. “I want people to remember that my freedom is your freedom because none of us are free until we are all free!!!"

In addition to their on-court exploits, Clarendon also served as the WNBPA's first vice president in 2016. They played a pivotal role in helping facilitate the WNBA's collective bargaining agreement in 2020 — a building block for the most recent CBA deal that saw salaries soar.

“Existing outside of the binary for me is freedom,” Clarendon wrote on Instagram in 2020. “I know that as Andrea Gibson says, my pronouns haven’t even been invented yet. I know that we all have masculinity and femininity inside of us and mine show up equally and wholly and fully… To the Trans Community, I see you, I love you, I love us. We are whole, we are enough, we are f— badass."

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What WNBA has said about transgender athletes

On Friday, the WNBPA released a statement extolling the virtues of justice, equity and inclusion while saying the union "will not be used as political pawns."

"We embrace justice equity, diversity, and inclusion," the statement read. "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."

It was the latest in a string of supportive comments issued by notable WNBA figures towards trans people. Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, Storm big Stefanie Dolson and Valkyries star Gabby Williams offered backing for trans athletes, who have been subjected to additional vitriol following Cunningham's remarks.

 “I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime," Williams said. "I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. It’s just another way to kind of attack trans people. We’ve seen players like Layshia Clarendon, who stepped into that forefront, and have been brave enough, and courageous enough, to step up. So I guess that’s the next battle we have to fight as athletes.”