"With respect to your questions regarding eligibility, only women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men," Engelbert wrote in the Oct.16 response.
The letter, which is dated Oct.16, was provided to OutKick by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), which represents Freedom.The letter answered a Sept.
17 inquiry from Rep.Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., and four other House Republicans about eligibility, player safety and confrontations with fans.
Freedom and White had announced plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft while saying they identify as women.GOP CONGRESSMAN PRESSES WNBA TO DEFINE ‘WOMEN’ AFTER ENES KANTER FREEDOM, ROYCE WHITE RULED INELIGIBLETurkish-American former basketball player and human rights activist Enes Kanter Freedom is seen prior to a game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Ill., on Aug.23, 2026.
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)The lawmakers asked how the league defines "women" under Article XIII, Section 1(a) of its collective bargaining agreement, and why the two former NBA players had been deemed ineligible.That provision of the 2026 agreement states: "Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA." It does not define the term in that eligibility provision.Stutzman welcomed Engelbert’s statement as an acknowledgment of a distinction based on biological sex."The WNBA has just taken the first step in defining what a woman is for the sports community," Stutzman said in a statement."By clearly labeling Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White as men they have acknowledged that identifying as a woman does not change basic human biology."WNBA COMMISSIONER CATHY ENGELBERT SENDS TRANS INCLUSION MEMO AFTER ENES FREEDOM, ROYCE WHITE ANNOUNCEMENTSWNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks before the WNBA basketball draft in New York on April 13, 2026.
(Pamela Smith/AP)Engelbert’s letter did not announce a new eligibility rule or spell out a broader ...