How an Ex-NBA player tried to join the WNBA This is Enes Kanter Freedom. He spent 11 years in the NBA.
 Then he tried to enter the women’s league.
 He got rejected. 2011–2022: The NBA @EnesFreedom Drafted 3rd overall by the Utah Jazz in 2011.
 6’10”, 250-pound center.
 Played for the Jazz, Thunder, Knicks, Trail Blazers, and Celtics.
 Career averages: 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. His NBA career ended in early 2022. He has said criticism of the Chinese government shortened it. August 2026: The announcement On August 7 he publicly declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft. He said that if simply declaring who you are is enough under the current rules, then he qualified.
 He stated he identified as a woman. On August 10 he signed and posted a formal letter to the league notifying them of his intent to enter the draft. August 23: Courtside He attended the Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky game wearing a black T-shirt that read: “WOMAN noun. adult human female.” Late in the third quarter, after celebrating a Sophie Cunningham three-pointer, he got into a heated confrontation with Sky guard Natasha Cloud. She approached his seat yelling. He stood with arms outstretched. Security escorted him out. He posted that he had been kicked out “for supporting WOMEN.”
 The Sky banned him from their home games. The WNBA did not issue a league-wide ban. The rejection Within days, league sources said he and Royce White were not eligible for the draft. In mid-October, after members of Congress asked the league how it defines “women,” Commissioner Cathy Engelbert replied in a letter: “Only women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men.” Freedom responded that she could not clearly define what a woman is but was certain he was a man. He said he would drop the entire effort if the league explicitly limited eligibility to biological females. He also said he identified as a woman and wanted that identity respected. October: The Finals He bought seats for Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. The arena offered him a private suite instead, citing safety concerns. He refused and insisted on sitting in the seats he had paid for. He was not allowed entry and was escorted out. After the season He continued to say he would show up for the 2027 WNBA Draft if the rules did not change. The WNBA’s CBA still says only women are eligible. It does not define the term further. No transgender woman has ever played in the league. He tried to join by declaring himself eligible under the rules as written.
 The league said he is a man.
 He got rejected. Was he wrong to try, or should he have been eligible?