WNBA To Continue Transgender Athlete Discussions After 2 Ex-NBA Players Declare for Draft Saying They Now Identify As Women

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to teams Friday afternoon addressing the league’s ongoing internal debate over transgender athlete participation, confirming the topic will be taken up next week by a task force of team presidents and general managers during a previously scheduled meeting.

In the memo, Engelbert acknowledged that team officials have fielded a growing number of questions on the subject in recent weeks and said she expects the topic to continue drawing significant attention. She thanked those who had responded to media inquiries with what she described as thoughtfulness and professionalism, and said the league considers the issue complex and nuanced, pledging continued conversations with teams and the players’ union in the months ahead, along with additional listening sessions for team leaders who want to participate.

Speaking separately with ESPN, Engelbert described her own position as squarely in the middle, saying she agrees and disagrees with arguments on both sides of the debate.

The memo’s timing was notable: it went out just hours after two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, each declared themselves eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft, with both saying they identify as women.

White said he identifies as transgender for the purposes of pursuing a professional basketball career, and indicated he would only reconsider his declaration if the league issued a definitive statement on the matter. The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement currently states that only players who are women are eligible to play in the league, but includes no further language addressing gender identity or sex assigned at birth. As of now, there are no transgender players in the league or formally entering it through conventional channels.

The broader controversy has been building for roughly a month, since Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was quoted in an ESPN feature voicing support for barring transgender athletes from women’s sports. That comment set off a wave of protests trailing Fever road games in multiple cities, including an incident that led the league to suspend a Seattle Storm minority owner for five games following a confrontation with fans.

Several WNBA head coaches have since weighed in publicly, with Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve and Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase both expressing support for inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports.

The WNBA Players Association also released its own statement addressing the debate, saying that hate, abuse and demonization of any group, including transgender people, only fuels fear, division and harm, and that while the union will continue engaging in difficult conversations, it will not allow itself to be used as a political pawn in the broader national debate.