Enes Kanter Freedom Hits Wall in Absurd WNBA Feud: Full Timeline of Former NBA Player’s ‘Publicity Stunt’

Former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are reportedly not eligible to play in the WNBA after declaring for the 2027 draft.

Natasha Cloud exchanged words with Enes Kanter Freedom in the Sky’s game with the Fever on Sunday. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Weeks after former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White declared for the WNBA draft by announcing themselves as women, neither will be eligible to play in the league, ESPN’s Kareem Copeland and Front Office Sports’ Colin Salao reported Monday, citing league sources.

Kanter Freedom sat courtside when the Sky hosted the Fever on Sunday and was removed from Wintrust Arena late in the third quarter after getting into a verbal altercation with Chicago guard Natasha Cloud.

After making a layup through contact on the other end of the floor, Cloud yelled at Kanter Freedom, who was behind the opposite baseline. Kanter Freedom then put his arms out to the side and stepped through game photographers and toward the court, as Sky players and staff moved to separate Cloud. Kanter Freedom was then escorted away by security.

Natasha Cloud gets the bucket then has some word for Enes Kanter and he gets escorted out of the game pic.twitter.com/w42dwjw9lt

— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) August 24, 2026

“Tash didn’t want to feel like she was a distraction and I told her she wasn’t,” Sky coach Tyler Marsh said postgame of the incident. “I told her that we all embrace her as someone who protects our team and protects people that need to be protected. Tash is always going to stand on that, and we stand for Tash.”

Kanter Freedom recently inserted himself into public discourse regarding transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. No known transgender woman has ever played in the WNBA. The league’s collective bargaining agreement says that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” There is no further definition of what a woman is in the agreement. Per ESPN and Copeland, league sources noted that there are currently no instances requiring the league to review the eligibility distinction and that it will continue to research and review the topic. Additionally, Copeland reported that there are no expectations of any rule changes in the near future.

Front Office Sports and Salao’s reporting indicated that a league source described Kanter Freedom and White’s recent declarations as “publicity stunts” and said that the league is “not going to give oxygen to efforts designed to mock the league or use this topic to demean and marginalize others.”

Sunday’s incident between Kanter Freedom and Cloud was a boiling point in a weeks-long debate that largely distracted from the actual basketball being played. Per ESPN, the WNBA has not announced any plans to prevent Kanter Freedom from attending future games following his removal.

Full timeline of Enes Kanter Freedom’s manufactured feud with the WNBA

Enes Freedom was removed from the Sky-Fever game on Sunday | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The WNBA became the epicenter of a culture war after Fever guard Sophie Cunningham spoke about her opposition to transgender athlete participation in girls’ and women’s sports in an ESPN profile published last month. The league has faced considerable fallout from her comments, including Kanter Freedom and White’s bad-faith draft declarations.

Since Cunningham’s comments, rallies organized by Cunningham supporters and counterprotests have descended upon Fever road games. On Sunday, for instance, Kanter Freedom joined Cunningham supporters in another such demonstration before he entered the arena.

Here’s a look at the full fallout leading up to Monday’s news, which seemingly marks an end to the 11-year NBA veteran’s plan:

• July 21: ESPN publishes a Sophie Cunningham profile that included comments about her opposition to transgender athlete participation in women’s sports.
• July 22: Cunningham doubles down on those initial comments while speaking to reporters at a Fever practice.
• July 30: Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton is fined and suspended from attending the team’s next five games following an exchange she had with two fans who reportedly brought signs supporting Cunningham to the Storm’s July 28 game against the Fever.
• Aug. 2: Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wears a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt in Minnesota’s game against the Fever. “I come from a space of inclusion,” Reeve told the media ahead of the game. “The narrative that I think is problematic is to suggest that transgender athletes are the biggest problem in women’s sports.”
• Aug. 4: Royce White says on X that he’s “actually a woman” and intends to pursue a WNBA career. (White, the 16th pick in the 2016 NBA draft, played in just three games and never recorded a point.)
• Aug. 5: Cunningham says she wants to get back to basketball amid fallout from her comments. “It's always been about basketball. That interview happened in [March]. I just want to make sure that the focus stays where it should because people are playing at such a high level,” she said at a Fever practice, per ESPN.
• Aug. 7: Enes Kanter Freedom declares himself a woman and a prospect for the 2027 WNBA draft, citing the league’s eligibility requirements. White reaffirms his declaration mere hours later.
• Aug. 7: Amid the political discourse surrounding the league, the WNBPA releases a statement that reads, “We embrace justice equity, diversity, and inclusion. Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women's sports while creating transformational change. Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.”
• Aug. 10: Kanter Freedom posts that he has officially declared for the 2027 WNBA draft by sending his intention to the league by letter.
• Aug. 23: Kanter Freedom attends Sky vs. Fever game before he is removed from the arena in the third quarter following a verbal altercation with Natasha Cloud.
• Aug. 24: Front Office Sports and ESPN report that Kanter Freedom and White are not eligible to play in the WNBA.

Following Sunday’s game, Cloud did not speak to media, but posted on Threads. “To every trans kid/person, You are apart [sic] of MY community & tribe,” Cloud wrote. “You belong. You’re loved. You’re seen. You’re perfect as you are. & you will always be protected by me.”

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