“They’re all fake news,” WNBA draft hopeful Enes Kanter Freedom warns about media reports that he has been officially deemed ineligible for the league’s 2027 draft.
Since ESPN reported Monday that “sources” say Freedom, a biological male, will not be eligible to play in the women’s professional basketball league despite identifying as a female, the ex-NBA star has repeatedly declared that any claim of his ineligibility is “fake news.”
In an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” on Wednesday, Freedom was asked if there was any truth to the ESPN report that he had been told by the WNBA that he is ineligible for its draft.
“No, please do not believe those news, because they’re all fake news,” Freedom urged. “The WNBA commissioner or the task force or the WNBA staff did not contact us. We did not hear anything official.”
“If they ever have some kind of issue, please come and talk to me,” Freedom said, adding that he simply wants the WNBA to address the issue of whether biological males who claim they “identify” as females are eligible:
“Listen, we’re not asking anything difficult. All we’re asking is, Article 13, Section 1 says if you identify as a woman, you’re allowed to play. So, if they tomorrow they add the word ‘biological’ next to the ‘female,’ I will drop everything immediately.”
"It's fake news."
Enes Kanter Freedom pushes back after @seanhannity asks him about reports that he is not eligible for the WNBA draft.
Freedom declared for the draft after identifying as a woman, arguing he's simply following the league's rules as he continues speaking out… pic.twitter.com/4bzLDjLsxS— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 27, 2026
As Fox News has reported, the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement’s Article XIII, Section 1(a) provides no definition of what constitutes a woman and doesn’t mention the terms “transgender” or “gender identity.”
Only one sentence in the 409-page document defines WNBA eligibility:
"Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA."
Following ESPN’s lead, other news outlets, such as Yahoo! Sports, have parroted the ineligibility claim by anonymous WNBA “sources” – prompting Freedom to repeatedly refute the reports.
In a follow-up to its initial article, Yahoo! Sports published a piece citing Freedom’s comments decrying the “fake news” in a live stream interview with podcaster Benny Johnson:
"‘It's fake news,’ he told Johnson. ‘We've not heard anything official from the WNBA yet. I don't want people to believe any of this. It's fake news. Don't believe it. We haven't heard anything official from the WNBA. But we are waiting to hear what their decision is going to be.’”
