Posted on 10/20/2026 10:28:33 AM PDT by Libloather
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told Republican lawmakers that former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are ineligible to play in the league because they are "both men," responding to a congressional inquiry without supplying the definition of "women" that lawmakers had requested.
"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.
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."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
By all accounts, Englebert should be in trouble for misgendering Kantor and White. That's the new standard, right?
How do they know?
It sounds like Hate has a home in the WNBA
How much longer does the NBA have to subsidize this league?
What is a woman/man?
Wait I thought chicks with dicks were allowed in the WNBA
I would love to hack into a WNBA sound system and play It’s A Man’s World by James Brown.
Can’t define what a woman is ... but those guys are definitely men!!
If the left had no double standards, they’d have no standards at all.
-PJ
I thought the same thing. Who are they to tell someone what sex they are?
I see a lawsuit in the future.
EXACTLY my thoughts. Weren’t we at one time told that misgendering was worse than murder?
And ask her if there are NOW or ever HAVE been men playing in the WNBA.
Okay. What proof do you have of that?
Depending the “assigned” at birth thing? What weight were you assigned at birth?
“the individuals you cite in your letter are both men,”
How dare they! Who hijacked the WNBA?
Theyre men so they cant play with women? Thanks ….that should clear up the rest of the sports worlds issues. Controversy over!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.