As discussions around WNBA inclusion policy heat up, voices within the transgender community are sharing their take on who belongs on the court.
Former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White have re-entered the spotlight after vowing to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft. They are looking to exploit a specific phrasing in the league’s collective bargaining agreement, which dictates that players must be ‘women’ without outlining concrete biological or identity criteria.
Both claim that self-identifying meets the baseline requirement, though the WNBA shut down the stunt as a bad-faith effort to mock trans individuals.
The WNBA hasn’t helped itself by offering vague, non-committal statements instead of taking a clear stance. And the situation worsened when league security mistakenly forced fans wearing t-shirts with opposing views on the trans debate to cover up, forcing the WNBA into an embarrassing, public apology.
But amongst all the chaos, what do transgender people think about all of this?
Transgenders take the side of Royce White and Enes Kanter
A social media creator by the name of Angela Rose went and conducted an experiment where she asked transgender people whether they would be for or against Royce White and Enes Kanter entering the WNBA.
The response was rather fascinating, with the general consensus that former NBA players, like Royce White and Enes Kanter, are fully women and should be allowed to play in the WNBA.
One transgender person said: “Just because she doesn’t want to get top or bottom surgery, it doesn’t mean that she should be barred from playing women’s sports.”
Another said: “I have no problem with it, but I also don’t follow the NBA.”
The general consensus was clear, with another trans person stating: “Let them play!”
Lastly, when asked about what Royce White needs to do to join the WNBA, another trans person responded: “He doesn’t need to do anything, it’s his choice. He can transition, he can play the same.”
This further adds pressure on the WNBA to come up with a valid reasoning against White and Kanter, with transgender people even joining their side.
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