A dispute over WNBA draft eligibility has become a political flashpoint after two former NBA players said they intended to seek entry into the league’s 2027 draft.
Rep. Bob Onder, a Missouri Republican, criticized the WNBA during a Wednesday appearance on Washington Watch, arguing that the league is “trying to have it both ways” on questions surrounding women’s sports and transgender eligibility.
Former NBA players test the policy
Earlier this month, former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White publicly declared plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft, citing the league’s inclusion standards, according to the source article.
Kanter Freedom wrote on X on August 7 that he and his team had reviewed the WNBA’s eligibility criteria and governing framework. “Based on the current guidelines, I can and am officially declaring my eligibility for the upcoming WNBA draft in April 2027,” he wrote, according to the source.
The Washington Times reported that White also filed paperwork on August 17 declaring his intent to enter the 2027 draft. White told Fox News Digital, “I’m transgender. I’m a woman. I … sometimes identify as a woman for purpose of basketball, professional basketball, so I’ll be declaring for the WNBA draft in 2027 as well.”
WNBA rejects the declarations
On Monday, the WNBA said Kanter Freedom and White would not be eligible for the draft and described their declarations as “publicity stunts,” according to the source article.
The source also states that both men have said publicly that the WNBA had not contacted them directly about their draft eligibility.
Onder framed the episode as a challenge to the league’s position on eligibility. He argued that basketball is a sport where “physical size, strength, muscle mass, [and] quickness” matter, and said the situation showed what he called the “absurdity” of allowing males to compete in women’s sports.
Collective bargaining language becomes part of the fight
The source article says the WNBA’s 2026 collective bargaining agreement states that only women can play in the league but does not define the term “woman.” It also cites ESPN as reporting that the league had not clarified that definition despite requests.
The article further states that the WNBA currently has no rule banning men who identify as transgender women from playing in the league.
Those claims could not be independently verified from the supplied material alone, but they are central to the political argument being made by Onder and other critics quoted in the source.
Faith and politics enter the debate
Frank Murphy, a former NFL player identified in the source as chair of the Athletes for America Coalition and director of Community Impact at the America First Policy Institute, also appeared on Washington Watch and urged Christian voters to act politically on the issue.
“We need our Christian men and women to step up and step out,” Murphy said, according to the source. He called on voters to participate in the midterms and said men should “get off the bench” to “protect our women.”
Murphy also said people who identify as transgender “need help, not just prayer,” adding, “They need mental help.”
The comments reflect how the WNBA eligibility dispute has moved beyond sports administration into a broader political and cultural fight over sex, gender identity and women’s athletic competition.
