{"id":2641962,"date":"2026-08-07T16:45:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-nba-star-declares-entry-into-wnba-draft\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:46:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:46:42","slug":"former-nba-star-declares-entry-into-wnba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-nba-star-declares-entry-into-wnba-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Former NBA Star Declares Entry Into WNBA Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-nba-star-declares-entry-into-wnba-draft%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2641962&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>This article discusses Enes Kanter Freedom, a former NBA star known for his outspoken views, who announced on social media that he is declaring himself eligible for the WNBA draft. Kanter Freedom argued that if simply declaring oneself as a woman is enough, he meets all the criteria to compete in the league, raising questions about the league\u2019s eligibility standards for women. The WNBA&#8217;s official rules specify that only women can play, but do not clarify how \u201cwomen\u201d is defined, especially concerning transgender athletes. This ambiguity has led to debates about preserving women&#8217;s sports from athletes who may have physical advantages due to biological differences, with some athletes and critics emphasizing the importance of protecting women&#8217;s sports integrity. Kanter Freedom&#8217;s move is seen as both a political statement and a challenge to the league&#8217;s policies, highlighting ongoing discussions about gender identification, eligibility criteria, and the legitimacy of women\u2019s sports in an era of evolving definitions and inclusivity debates.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>It appears the WNBA is getting closer to put up or shut up time.<\/p>\n<p>Former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom \u2014 a player who is no stranger to controversy \u2014 announced on the social media platform X on Friday that he is declaring himself eligible for next year\u2019s WNBA draft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I am officially declaring myself a WNBA prospect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines,<br \/> I\u2019m officially declaring myself a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WNBA?\">@WNBA<\/a> prospect.<\/p>\n<p>If simply declaring who you are is all that\u2019s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.<\/p>\n<p>My team and I have\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/msncUZUT1J\">pic.twitter.com\/msncUZUT1J<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/EnesFreedom\/status\/2085772139869696032?\">August 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf simply declaring who you are is all that\u2019s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,\u201d Kanter Freedom said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy team and I have carefully examined the WNBA eligibility criteria and governing framework surrounding self-identification and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And what are those \u201celigibility criteria\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>According to the Fox-owned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/wnba-silent-caitlin-clark-says-leagues-should-determine-who-included-womens-sports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Outkick Sports<\/a>, the league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement reached in March declares that, \u201cOnly players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But in an era when too many sports personalities \u2014 including coaches in the WNBA itself \u2014 pretend to be uncertain about what exactly the word \u201cwomen\u201d means, that throws the door open for all manner of supposed \u201ctransgender\u201d players to try to pass themselves off as women for the purposes of infiltrating the WNBA.<\/p>\n<p>And Enes Kanter Freedom\u2019s pitch on Friday is going to make that clearer than ever.<\/p>\n<p>The WNBA does not list criteria for determining who qualifies as a \u201cwoman,\u201d according to the fact-checking website <a href=\"https:\/\/factually.co\/fact-checks\/sports\/wnba-ncaa-transgender-athlete-eligibility-rules-0b9288\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">factually.co<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Its biggest name to speak out on the subject, the Indiana Fever\u2019s Sophie Cunningham, has been subjected to insults \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/sophie-cunningham-stands-young-girls-battling-trans-mob-love-truth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cMAGA Barbie\u201d<\/a> \u2014 and hasn\u2019t even been backed up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/cunninghams-coach-hangs-dry-reporters-ask-men-womens-sports-worst-answer-ever-heard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">by her own coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But Cunningham understands that women\u2019s sports need to be protected from men claiming to be women to take advantage of the inherent physical superiority that comes with having XY chromosomes.<\/p>\n<p>Every sane person understands it, and even the questionably sane \u2014 like French \u201cwomen\u2019s\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wnba-trans-nightmare-worsens-63-man-wants-join-steven-smith-blasts-league-teams-dared-play-high-school-boys-10m-prize\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">basketball player Julie Tetart<\/a> \u2014 all powerfully muscled 6 feet, 3 of him \u2014 understand it.<\/p>\n<p>Those who claim otherwise are the deliberately obtuse, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wnba-owner-curses-teenage-sophie-cunningham-supporters-bringing-tears\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WNBA owner Celeste Keaton<\/a> or the perennially annoying former women\u2019s soccer star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/megan-rapinoe-back-spotlight-getting-torched-blasting-rule-protecting-women-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Megan Rapinoe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And then there\u2019s a certain Supreme Court justice who begged off defining \u201cwoman\u201d \u2014 her very own biological gender \u2014 on the grounds that she\u2019s \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/biden-scotus-nominee-says-cant-define-word-woman-not-biologist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">not a biologist<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Well, Kanter Freedom is certainly no biologist, either. But what he is is an athlete good enough to play in NBA, the world\u2019s dominant basketball league, and a human being courageous enough to call out that league\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/china-will-rage-nba-star-savages-xi-murderous-communists-clever-name-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pacts with the devils<\/a> in communist China, even when that got him into trouble with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/nba-player-enes-kanter-blasts-lebron-james-china-comments-freedom-not-free\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">biggest name<\/a> in the sport.<\/p>\n<p>And with Friday\u2019s troll of the WNBA, he\u2019s putting a glaring light on a weak spot in the league\u2019s oh-so-nuanced wokeness and essentially pushing it to define what exactly it means when it says, \u201cOnly players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Is he going to be taken seriously and considered for the WNBA draft? Almost certainly not.<\/p>\n<p>This is a political publicity stunt. And the WNBA has to understand, even if it can\u2019t admit it, that its sole legitimacy as a sport comes from the fact that it\u2019s for \u201cwomen\u201d \u2014 the \u201cW\u201d in its title being a big clue.<\/p>\n<p>But even as a publicity stunt, it raises serious questions about what the WNBA actually believes and why. And how it can and will formulate rules to reflect that.<\/p>\n<p>In short, it\u2019s getting closer to put up or shut up time. And the WNBA is running out of clock.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Enes Kanter Freedom announces he\u2019s eligible for next year&#8217;s WNBA draft<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2641963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/enes-kanter-freedom-for-aug.-7-2026.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7142,54105,7873,7188],"class_list":["post-2641962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-basketball","tag-draft-2","tag-nba","tag-wnba"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/enes-kanter-freedom-for-aug.-7-2026.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2641962"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2641965,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641962\/revisions\/2641965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2641963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2641962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2641962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2641962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}