Amid the ongoing debate over transgender athletes in women’s basketball, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said former NBA players Enes Freedom and Royce White are “not women” and therefore cannot play in the league.
Engelbert made the remarks in an Oct. 16 letter to the U.S. Congress after Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman and four other lawmakers asked her to clarify how the WNBA defines women and determines player eligibility. Their letter also raised questions about player safety, fan interactions and conduct during games.
“Only women are eligible to play in the WNBA and the individuals you cite in your letter are both men,” Engelbert said.
Stutzman welcomed Engelbert’s response but argued that it still failed to provide the definition Congress had requested. Freedom, meanwhile, questioned who has the authority to determine an athlete’s identity and what standards the league uses.
The dispute grew after WNBA players Gabby Williams and Natasha Cloud expressed support for transgender inclusion. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, however, maintained that female athletes should not be required to compete against biological males.
Freedom has opposed transgender women competing in women’s sports and joined White in challenging the league’s eligibility rules by declaring for the WNBA draft.
Freedom’s protests had already caused friction in August, when security ejected him from a Chicago Sky game after a confrontation with Cloud. He wore a shirt defining a woman as an “adult human female,” and the Sky subsequently barred him from future home games.
Responding to Engelbert’s letter to Congress, Freedom told OutKick:
“Cathy Engelbert cannot clearly define what a woman is, but she’s absolutely certain that I’m a man. How does that make sense? Who gets to decide? Who has the authority to determine whether someone is a woman?”
“I just want her to respect my identity because I am telling you that I identify as a woman,” he added.
The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement limits participation to women but does not specify how gender identity or sex assigned at birth affects eligibility. No transgender woman has played in the league.
