Enes Kanter Freedom chooses dream WNBA landing spot: Best thing the league has ever had
Enes Kanter Freedom is ready to take Clay Travis up on his unusual WNBA offer.The former NBA center said he would “100%” play for Travis’ proposed Nashville Balls franchise, escalating his ongoing challenge to the league’s player-eligibility rules amid a broader WNBA debate over transgender participation.Asked on Fox News whether he would actually suit up if Travis gave him the opportunity, Kanter Freedom did not hesitate.“Oh, 100%,” he said.“That would be the best thing that the WNBA has ever had.”He then argued the spectacle would deliver exactly what every professional sports league wants.“Think about the ticket sales and all the ratings that will go up and the arenas will be full,” Kanter Freedom said.
“I’m not here to hurt women’s basketball.I’m here to just protect it in a way.”Travis has pitched the Nashville Balls as an all-transgender expansion-team concept and has said he would welcome Kanter Freedom and former NBA player Royce White, both of whom have announced plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft as part of their criticism of the league’s current eligibility language.Kanter Freedom and White have attempted to test where the league draws that line.
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement states that only women are eligible to play, but does not spell out a more detailed transgender eligibility standard.The league has convened discussions on the subject, while a league source previously characterized the former NBA players’ draft declarations as publicity stunts.Kanter Freedom has pushed back against reports that the league has already determined he cannot participate, telling the New York Post that he had received no official notice from WNBA officials and calling those reports “fake news.” Kanter Freedom disputed reports that he was already ineligible for the WNBA Draft.The controversy has expanded well beyond hypothetical roster construction.Kanter Freedom was recently removed from a Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever ...